THE   GENERAL; 


TWELYE    NIGHTS 


THE  HUNTERS'  CAMP. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  REAL  LIFE. 

~~>  '/-•/•' 

t-J,  —'-  £  £  X*_->-?  L,--        '-v,,-^    <?f..  ^1^f~- 

ILLUSTRATED    BY    G.     Q.     WHITE. 


"  To  those  who  knew  my  BBOTIIEB  this  book  will  doubtless  bring  back  his 
image  in  many  lights ;  for  those  who  knew  him  not,  I  can  only  hope  that 
it  will  make  them  wish  that  they  had  known  him." 

SCUDDEE. 


BOSTON: 
LEE     AND     SHEPARD. 

1869. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  }-ear  1869,  by 

LEE    AND    SHEPARD, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


STEREOTYPED    AT    THE 

BOSTON    STEREOTYPE    FOUNDRY, 

19  Spring  Lane. 


EDITORIAL    NOTE. 


THIS  volume  is  matter  of  fact,  being  the  truthful  records  of  the 
actual  life  of  a  real  person.  Knowing  The  General  thoroughly, 
and  the  facts  and  incidents  as  here  related  while  they  were 
taking  place,  I  persuaded  him  to  write  them  out,  and  for  this 
reason  :  There  is  a  passion  among  the  young  for  a  kind  of  read 
ing  that  is  full  of  adventure  and  startling  incidents.  This  desire 
has  been  gratified  and  unduly  stimulated  by  overwrought  fiction, 
and  the  manifestation  of  much  low  and  unworthy  character.  As 
The  General,  in  his  eventful  life,  furnished  rare  and  ample 
material  for  a  truthful  and  useful  book  of  adventures,  it  seemed  a 
good  thing  to  write  it  out  for  the  young. 

Here  is  a  real  case  for  their  study,  where  one  goes  up  from 
boyhood  through  difficulties  and  daring  exploits  and  perils  to  a 
ripe  manhood  of  intelligence,  and  usefulness,  and  honor.  Much 
of  his  life  was  a  real  romance  and  heroism  of  the  noblest  kind, 
and  the  record  of  it  must  prove  a  healthful  stimulus  to  every 
young  reader,  who  has  energy,  and  daring,  and  the  fixed  purpose 
to  make  his  life  noble.  To  such  I  dedicate  the  book. 

The  volume  was  planned  on  the  shores  of  Swan  Lake.  The 
sketches  of  that  excursion  are  true,  and  I  was  there  mainly  to 
prepare  the  way  for  what  is  now  offered.  I  have  taken  a 
dramatic  liberty  in  making  The  General  tell  there  a  nightly  story. 
Volumes  of  stories  were  told  around  that  memorable  camp  fire. 
He  wrote  out  the  twelve  soon  afterwards,  substantially  as  here 
given. 

It  has  been  my  conceit  to  vary  his  continuous  narrative  by 
sketches  of  each  day,  and  experiences  of  my  own  at  other  times. 


IV  EDITORIAL    NOTE. 

I  trust  I  have  not  marred  the  picture  in  the  framing.  The 
frame,  as  the  picture,  is  rustic,  the  style  being  of  the  wild  and 
backwoods  pattern. 

I  shall  be  happily  content  if  my  Preludes  tempt  any  of  my 
pale,  Mondayish,  clerical  friends  from  the  cloister,  bookish  life 
in  which  they  are  dying,  to  the  grand  hotels  and  promenades  of 
tent  and  forest  life  for  a  season.  For  this  we  have  good  warrant. 
"  Come  ye  yourselves  apart  into  a  desert  place,  and  rest  awhile. 
.  .  .  And  they  departed  into  a  desert  place  privately." 

In  his  discourse  on  the  "  Fulfilling  of  Prophecies,"  Peter  du 
Molin  well  remarks,  that  when  God  was  about  to  make  any 
revelations  or  give  any  exalted  notions  to  his  prophets,  he  took 
them  either  into  the  desert  and  among  mountains,  or  to  the  wild 
shores  of  seas  and  rivers,  that  he  might  have  them  alone,  and  in 
the  most  favorable  condition  for  spiritual  ends. 

"  In  such  green  palaces  the  first  kings  reigned, 
Slept  in  their  shades,  and  angels  entertained; 
With  such  old  counsellors  they  did  advise, 
And  by  frequenting  sacred  groves  grew  wise." 

And  if  any  do  incline  to  join  us  in  "a  desert  place  "  and  a 
forest  life  for  vacations,  let  me  suggest  to  them  the  puritanic 
advice  of  that  good  Pilgrim,  Edward  "Winslow,  in  his  letter  to 
English  friends,  dated  "  Plimmouth  in  New-England,  this  11  of 
December,  1621." 

"  Build  your  Cabbins  as  open  as  you  can ;  bring  euery  man  a 
Musket  or  fowling  Peece.  Let  your  Peece  be  long  in  the 
barrell,  and  fear  not  the  waight  of  it.  Our  Indian  Corne,  even 
the  coursest,  makcth  as  pleasant  meat  as  Rice.  .  .  .  For  hot 
waters  Anni-seed  water  is  the  best,  but  vse  it  sparingly.  .  .  . 
Let  your  shott  be  most  for  bigge  Fowles,  and  bring  store  of 
Powder  and  shot.  So  I  take  my  leaue,  commending  you  to  the 
LORD  for  a  safe  conduct  vnto  vs." 

WILLIAM  BARROWS 

READING,  MASS.,  January  5, 1869. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

PAGH 

An  Encampment.  Forest  and  Water.  Swan  Lake  and  its 
Surroundings.  Our  Country  nearly  spoiled  by  "Settle 
ments."  Who  we  are  at  Swan  Lake.  Where  we  came 
from,  and  how.  Men  and  Boats,  Dogs  and  Supplies,  go 
ing  aboard.  On  Deck  and  in  Cabin.  Dock  and  Rube. 
Poor  Rube!  The  General.  A  Landing.  Housing  for 
the  Night.  Leave  the  Settlement  for  the  Camp  Ground. 
The  Land  Party  and  the  Boat  Party.  Under  Canvas  and 
Twilight.  Our  first  Camp  Fire.  Snoring  Men  and  dying 
Brands.  .  9 


FIRST    NIGHT. 

PRELUDE.  —  A  Morning  at  Swan  Lake.  Noisy  Ducks  and 
Geese.  Toilet  at  a  Log.  Tent  Sleep  and  the  Age  of  Me 
thuselah.  That  Breakfast.  Guns  and  Dogs,  and  away. 
The  Tramp  and  Return.  Game  and  Supper.  We  tell  our 
Experience.  We  make  a  Discovery  in  The  General.  He 
promises  the  Story  of  his  Life.  Begins.  .  '  .  .23 

THE  STORY.  —  Birthplace.     Face  of  the  Country.     Early 
Impressions.    The  old  Coon-hunter.    Free  Schools.    Sons 
of   New  England.     Love   of  Adventure.     His   Parents. 
Farewell  to  the  old  Homestead  at  the  Age  of  ten.     Re 
moval  to  New  Braintree.    .        .        .        .        .  .    27 

1 


CONTENTS. 


SECOND     NIGHT. 

PRELUDE.  —  Morning  Scenes  under  the  Hickories.  Off 
again.  Thomas  k  Becket.  My  first  Turkey.  Evening 
Shadows  and  weary  Gunners.  What  we  bagged.  How 
we  ate.  Swan  Lake  Hotel  for  Dyspeptics  and  Invalids. 
The  General  again 33 

THE  STORY.  —  The  new  Home.  The  old  Hemlock  Swamp. 
Snaring  the  Partridge  and  Rabbit.  Hunting  and  Pishing. 
Farming.  Purchase  of  the  dead  Woodpecker.  School- 
d&ys.  Planting  Beans  and  Pumpkins.  Goes  to  Worces 
ter  to  live.  Saws  wood  at  Night  for  Books.  Goes  to  Pom- 
fret,  Connecticut.  To  Thompson.  To  Brimfield,  Mas 
sachusetts.  Works  at  Parming  by  the  Month.  Winter  at 
Home.  At  Brimfield  again.  Night  Studies.  Trip  to 
Western  New  York.  Turns  Lawyer  in  a  Bear  Case. 
Home.  Twenty-one -.  .38 


THIRD     NIGHT. 

PRELUDE.  —  Old  Hugh  Latimer's  good  Sermon  on  Hunting 
and  Pishing.  A  Hint  to  professional  Men.  The  best 
Gymnasium.  Swimming  the  River  seven  Times.  What 
Jeremy  Taylor  says.  Trouble  in  Camp.  The  old  Read 
ing  Dog-law 49 

THE  STORY.  —  He  leaves  New  England  to  find  a  Portune. 
New  York.  Settles  in  New  Jersey.  Becomes  a  Teacher. 
Studies  a  Profession.  Pirst  Interview  with  his  future 
Wife.  Marriage.  Removal  to  Sussex  County.  Goes  to 
Norfolk,  Virginia.  Goes  to  New  Orleans.  Explores  the 
Yazoo  and  Black  Rivers  in  Mississippi.  Merrill's  Gang. 
Eliot  Mission  Station.  Swimming  the  Big  Black.  Re 
turn  to  Natchez.  To  New  Jersey.  .....  53 


CONTENTS. 


FOURTH    NIGHT. 

PRELUDE.  —  Christian  Ministers  hunting  and  fishing.  What 
Miss  Araminta  says  about  it.  A  splendid  Country  that  can 
never  be  settled.  Providential  Arrangements  for  Hunt 
ers.  Kankakee,  Winnebago  Marsh,  and  Alaska,  our  great 
American  Game  Preserves.  Comfort  over  depopulated 
Towns.  Game  in  the  Holy  Land.  David  a  good  Sports 
man,  as  well  as  Psalmist.  The  Country  growing  too  nar 
row  for  quiet  Nooks.  Sad  Experiences.  Supper  and  The 
General  again 61 

THE  STORY.  —  He  returns  South.  First  Contract  with  the 
Government  as  Unitad  States  Surveyor.  Choctaw  Pur 
chase,  what,  and  Hardships  in  reaching  it.  Rough  Work. 
Water  leg-deep,  and  how  to  sleep  there.  Provisions 
fail.  Game  scarce.  The  General  starts  for  a  Settlement 
and  Supplies.  Awful  Tempest.  Lost.  A  lonely  Night. 
Refuge  in  the  Bandits'  Camp.  Frontier  Courtesies. 
Flooded  Country.  The  Settlement,  Supplies,  and  Return. 
Bayous  and  Forests.  Teams  abandoned.  Forward  and 
backward.  Rivers  and  Ravines.  Camp  at  last,  and  the 
starving  Men.  The  Survey  abandoned,  and  Men  driven 
out  by  the  Overflow.  Steamer  to  St.  Louis.  Spring  of 
1837 68 

FIFTH    NIGHT. 

PRELUDE.  —  A  Night  beyond  the  Settlements.  Enjoyment 
of  a  Night  per  se.  A  Morning  wholly  to  yourself.  An 
Illustration  among  the  Schoodic  Lakes.  A  Storm  in  the 
Forest  of  Maine.  Enjoyment  of  wild  Nature.  What 
Wynkyn  de  Worde  says  in  his  Treatyse  of  Fysshynge. 
On  the  Falls  of  the  Aroostook.  Evening,  and  Swan  Lake 
'once  more. 81 

THE  STORY.  —  Over  the  Mississippi.  The  General  leaves 
St.  Louis  for  Wisconsin  Territory.  Stops  at  Keokuk. 


CONTENTS. 

First  Interview  with  the  noted  Chiefs  Black  Hawk  and 
Keokuk.  The  Passage  up.  Trip  into  the  Interior  of 
Iowa.  Natural  Beauties.  Rock  Island  and  the  Envi 
rons.  Black  Hawk,  the  Chieftain,  the  Warrior  of  1812, 
and  Friend  of  Tecumseh.  Keokuk  his  Rival.  Black  Hawk 
War  in  its  Causes  and  Ending.  Black  Hawk  the  Pris 
oner  of  the  Whites.  The  General  sits  in  an  Indian  Coun 
cil.  Indian  Habits  and  Methods  in  Council.  Keokuk  in 
Dress,  Manners,  and  Speech.  Indian  Games  following 
the  Council.  Rock  Island  the  ancient  Resort  of  the  In 
dians.  Battles  for  it.  An  Indian  Duel.  Arrest  of  the 
Murderer.  His  fearful  Execution.  ,  90 


SIXTH    NIGHT. 

PRELCDE.  —  Sameness,  yet  Variety,  in  our  Camp  Life.  Vis 
itors  in  Broadcloth.  What  Saint  Izaak  Walton  says. 
Two  Trumpeter  Swans  bagged.  Their  Habits,  Beauty, 
Weight,  and  Flesh.  Old  English  Laws  concerning.  Au- 
dubon  on  the  Swan,  and  The  General  on  the  Stand.  .  104 

THE  STORY.  —  Summer  of  1837.  Surveying  on  the  Wa- 
bessapinecon.  Supplies  then  from  Cincinnati.  Studying 
the  Indian  Language.  His  Teacher,  Nah-me-naske. 
Stakes  and  Bounds  destroyed.  Trouble.  Indian  Creed 
of  the  Future  State.  Corrupted  by  the  Whites.  The 
General  forms  a  Dictionary  of  their  Language.  Becomes 
their  Friend.  Lost  at  Night  on  the  River.  Winter  of 
1837-8  among  Indians.  Return  to  Davenport  in  April. 
To  New  Jersey.  Back  to  the  Territory  with  his  Family. 
Then  and  now  in  Iowa.  "The  poor  Indian."  A  sad 
Camp 109 

SEVENTH    NIGHT. 

% 

PRELUDE.  —  Mississippi  Bottom  Land.  Old  Forest.  The 
charms  of  Solitude.  Choate  with  us.  Dinner  on  the 


CONTENTS.  5 

River  Bank.  The  Way  it  was  served,  and  the  Dining- 
room  Pictures.  An  after-dinner  Incident.  The  solitary 
Cabin,  and  what  I  saw  in  it.  The  General  waits  for  us.  .  119 

THE  STORY.  —  Surveys  on  The  Black  Hawk  Purchase  in 
1839.  Survey  of  the  Islands  between  Rock  River  and 
Quincy.  Difficulties  and  Hardships  in  it.  Hunting  Ex 
pedition  into  the  Indian  Country.  Neutral  Grounds. 
Hostile  Indians.  Wild  Honey.  Surprised  by  the  Winne- 
bagoes.  The  Alarm  and  Escape.  The  General  prepares 
for  a  Map  of  Iowa  Territory  in  1841.  Winter  Quarters. 
Studies  the  Winnebago  Language.  Indian  Boys.  Con 
ference  in  State  with  the  Chief.  The  Mission  Boy  Wa- 
bessa-wawa.  Chas-chun-ka  forbids  The  General  to  make 
Observations  for  his  Map.  Visits  the  Indian  Agent  at 
Fort  Atkinson.  Lost  in  the  Fog.  Reaches  the  Fort  in 
seven  Days.  Mission  School  of  Mr.  Lowry.  Letter  to 
the  Chief  from  the  Agent.  Return.  The  Chief  made  will 
ing.  Trouble.  Wabessa-wawa  at  the  right  Time.  Ex 
cursions.  Camping  in  the  Snow.  An  Indian  Trader  and 
his  Whiskey.  A  Tent  Scene.  The  Maine  Law  enforced. 
Return  to  Davenport.  Map  and  Notes  of  Iowa  finished 
and  published.  The  General  concludes,  and  we  all  talk.  .  125 


EIGHTH    NIGHT. 

PRELUDE.  —  The  next  Morning.  The  Way  to  Manhood. 
Dr.  Nimrod's  Water  Cure.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Antams.  The 
Dyspeptic.  Methuselah  and  Tent  Life.  The  next  Eve 
ning,  and  The  General.  Loud  Laughing  and  lawful.  .  144 

THE  STORY.  —  Surveys  on  the  Kickapoo.  The  Sugar 
Loaves  of  Wisconsin.  Provisions  fall.  The  General 
starts  for  Prairie  du  Chien,  fifty  Miles.  A  fearful  Torna 
do.  The  Return  obstructed.  Anxiety  for  the  Men.  De 
layed  by  fallen  Timber  many  Days.  The  Camp  reached. 
An  appalling  Sight.  The  Bear  Dogs  killed  for  Food.  On 


CONTENTS. 

the  Way  home.  Indians  rob  the  Cache.  Excitement 
about  Mineral  Lands.  The  General  heads  an  Exploring 
Expedition.  A  delightful  Region.  St.  Paul,  and  the  Falls 
of  St.  Anthony.  "The  poor  Indian"  again.  Cost  of 
founding  a  State 


NINTH    NIGHT. 

PRELUDE.  —  Extra  Cooking,  and  why.  An  early  Start  and 
weary  "Way.  Wild-goose  Chase  illustrated.  Other  wild 
Geese.  Back  again.  By  the  Camp  Eire  and  The  Gen 
eral  once  more. 161 

THE  STORY.  —  Public  Surveys  of  Iowa.  Indians  and  Game 
leave.  Immigrants.  Dull  Times  in  1849.  California  Ex 
citement.  The  General  has  the  Fever.  Westward  ho ! 
in  1850.  Surveys  for  the  Pacific  Eailroad,  the  first  ever 
made  and  published.  Camp  at  Council  Bluffs.  Visits 
the  Omaha  Mission.  Explores  the  Region.  Overland 
Company  organized.  The  General  receives  his  Commis 
sion.  Rules  and  Regulations  given.  The  Sabbath  to  be 
kept.  Break  Camp  April  22.  Along  the  Platte  and 
Loup.  Battle-field  of  the  Sioux  and  Pawnees.  Indian 
Hieroglyphics.  Customs  of  Courtship  and  Marriage. 
Different  in  different  Tribes.  Funerals  and  Burials. 
Strange  Modes.  Sports.  Waiting  for  the  Ferry  Boat.  .  165 


TENTH    NIGHT. 

PRELUDE.  —  Sameness  in  our  Camp  Life.  A  Phenomenon 
in  a  Tent.  Explained.  Sending  off'  Game  to  Friends. 
An  exquisite  Hunter  comes  to  see  us.  The  pompous  Fish 
erman  and  the  Sculpin.  Rifle  Shooting.  Sharp-shooting 
and  public  Speaking.  Deacon  Two  Guns.  A  Bishop's 
bad  Shot,  and  the  Moral.  An  idle,  jolly  Day,  winding  up 
with  The  General.  .  .  178 


CONTENTS.  7 

THE  STORY.  —  Over  the  Loup  Fork  Ferry.  Among  the 
Pawnees.  Trouble  with  them.  An  anxious  Evening. 
"  Indians  !  Indians  !  "  Confusion  in  the  Camp.  Funny 
Scenes  and  serious  Times.  A  profitable  Fright.  Judg 
ment  on  the  Selfish.  Buffalo.  Buffalo  Trail,  what  it  is. 
Antelopes  and  their  fatal  Curiosity.  Two  hundred  Miles 
and  one  Tree.  Saleratus  Beds.  The  Mirage.  The  Dust. 
The  Prairie  Dog.  Fort  Laramie,  and  Eest.  .  .  .  186 

ELEVENTH    NIGHT. 

PRELUDE.  —  A  Novelty  at  Swan  Lake.  The  Farmers  make 
a  Raid.  The  various  Kinds  of  Fish.  The  horrid  Gar. 
The  Spoonbill.  Dock  and  the  Fish.  Ancient  and  Bibli 
cal  Fishermen.  Job  "high-line."  Walter  Scott,  Web 
ster,  and  Dr.  John  Colet 199 

THE  STORY.  —  Looking  for  a  Guide.  Gaspero.  Leave 
Laraniie.  One  of  Gaspero's  Stories.  Up  the  Sweet  Wa 
ter.  Independence  Rock.  Dinner  on  its  Top.  Nearer 
the  Height  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  A  charming  Valley. 
Wide  Views.  A  Funeral.  The  Brooks  run  West.  The 
General  enjoys  the  Wish  of  his  Childhood.  Robbery  of 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans.  The  Panorama.  "My 
Own,  my  Native  Land."  Left  on  the  Rocky  Mountains.  208 

TWELFTH    NIGHT. 

PRELUDE. —Last  Day  in  Camp.  Improved  Condition.  A 
special  Hunt.  Grand  Trophies.  The  General  starts  us 
for  the  Pacific -  .  .223 

THE  STORY.  —  His  Company  leave  the  Summit.  Familiar 
Peaks.  The  beautiful  Green  River.  Strange  Stories  of 
it.  Horses  fail.  Gold  falls.  Swollen  Streams.  Root 
Digger  Indians.  Grasshopper  Bread.  Indians  stampede 
the  Horses.  American  Sahara.  Troubles  begin.  Mule 


O  CONTENTS. 

Meat.  Luggage  abandoned.  Four  hundred  Miles  on 
Foot.  Bewildered.  The  General  goes  in  Advance  for 
Supplies.  Relieved  by  Mormons.  Cross  the  Nevada. 
San  Francisco 227 

LAST  NIGHT  AT  SWAN  LAKE.  —  Late  Hours  and  strange  Do 
ings.  Morning  and  a  Storm.  Tents  struck  and  Teams 
off.  New  Boston  and  a  Steamer.  Up  Stream.  Home.  235 

MORE  or  THE  GENERAL.  —  Identified  with  Iowa.  Scott 
County,  and  his  History  of  it.  Minnesota  Massacre, 
and  his  Account  of  it.  To  Montana  and  Idaho  in  1864 
by  Carriage.  Second  Trip,  in  1865,  by  Missouri  River. 
His  Christmas  Story  from  the  Mouth  of  the  Yellowstone. 
Chin-cha-pee,  The  Maid  of  the  Assiniboins.  .  .  .237 


IN  MEMORIAM.     .  ...  267 


INTRODUCTORY. 


EIGHT  tents  in  a  semicircle.  Seven  of  them  are 
small,  for  two  or  three  persons  each,  and  the  eighth, 
bearing  conspicuously  the  government  letters,  U.  S., 
is  large  enough  to  cover  the  hotel  table  of  the  encamp 
ment.  The  furniture  of  the  small  tents  is  a  good 
carpeting  of  prairie  hay,  equivalent  to  mattress,  feather 
bed,  and  lounge ;  then  buffalo  robes  and  bed  quilts, 
overcoats,  cavalry  boots,  and  boots  not  cavalry,  valises 
and  shawls,  cigar  boxes,  and  chunky,  battered  chests, 
like  an  expressman's,  marked  Magazine,  together  with 
other  articles,  various  and  miscellaneous. 

These  al],  have  that  fancy  arrangement  common  to 
camp  life,  and  uncommon  with  good  housekeepers ;  for 
every  article  had  dropped  into  place,  of  its  own  accord, 
where  last  used. 

In  the  corners  of  the  tents,  around  the  tent  poles,  or 
by  tree  and  sapling  within  easy  reach,  lean  securely 
light  fowling-pieces  of  six  and  eight  pounds ;  long  and 
heavier  ordnance  of  twelve  and  sixteen  pounds,  for 
geese  and  swan ;  and  trim,  snug-built  rifles,  for  the 
wary  deer  and  turkey.  I  put  turkey  last,  for  the  watch 
ful  things,  always  on  picket  guard,  are  the  last  to  be 
taken.  Here  and  there,  on  peg  and  hook  within,  hang 

(9) 


10  INTRODUCTORY. 

pouches,  flasks,  and  hunters'  belts,  and  game  bags. 
Then  some  of  these,  and  some  other  things,  do  not 
hang  at  all,  but  help  to  make  the  pleasing  miscellany, 
the  sportsman's  whatnot,  in  the  universal  corner. 

The  U.  S.,  the  dining  tent,  towering  with  its  snowy 
peak,  covers  provisions  and  groceries,  flanking  the  long 
table,  of  appetizing  variety  and  quieting  abundance. 
Sacks  and  buckets,  bags  and  boxes,  tubs  of  butter, 
caddies  of  tea,  hams,  sardines,  and  coffee,  cans  of  milk 
fresh  from  the  nearest  cabin,  two  miles  away,  flour, 
vegetables,  and  hard  tack  —  these  fortify  our  rear  as 
we  sit  at  the  table.  Between  these  and  the  table  there 
is  just  room  enough  for  standee  seats,  and  extemporane 
ous  chairs,  so  liable  to  fail  an  unsteady  occupant. 

These  eight  tents  open  inward  on  their  semicircle, 
facing  a  long  line  of  camp  fire  —  a  kind  of  burning 
diameter  for  the  curving  group.  The  extreme  tents 
are  a  good  gunshot  asunder.  Surrounding  and  over 
hanging  the  whole  are  majestic  forest  trees,  oak,  black 
walnut,  hickory,  and  whitewood.  Clear  of  under 
growth,  and  the  trees  themselves  quite  free  of  lower 
limbs,  their  majestic  tops  interlock  and  arch  over  the 
camp,  as  in  some  old  Gothic  church,  where,  arch  spring 
ing  from  arch,  nave,  and  choir,  and  wings  seem  strug 
gling  and  bracing  together  to  hold  up  the  common 
roof. 

The  camp  ground  itself  is  a  plateau,  a  kind  of  table. 
On  one  side  is  the  low,  level  forest,  where  the  vast 
native  growth  stretches  away  for  miles,  and  on  the 
other  sleeps  Swan  Lake.  Just  our  locality  is  a  kind  of 
shoulder  hunched  out  towards  the  water.  This  is  a 
beautiful  sheet,  six  miles  long  —  if  it  were  stretched  out, 


INTRODUCTORY.  11 

as  fortunately  it  is  not  —  by  two  or  three  wide.  In 
places  the  bottom  prairie  comes  down  to  its  very 
shores  to  kiss  the  sandy  beach,  while  on  other  sections 
the,  forest  stands  guard  in  thick  ranks,  and  to  the  very 
water's  edge. 

If  any  one  supposes  that  the  view  from  this  camp 
into  the  forest,  or  on  the  lake,  whether  by  sunlight, 
moonlight,  or  starlight,  was  not  enchanting,  I  would 
like  to  see  the  encampment  again  made,  and  then 
introduce  my  doubting  reader  to  it.  It  would  by  no 
means  be  irksome  to  me  to  repeat  the  two  weeks  I 
spent  there  in  the  late  autumn  of  1863.  If  I  could  not 
convince  my  pavement  and  hotel  friend  of  the  beauties 
and  glories  of  the  scenery,  I  could  console  myself  under 
defeat  in  enjoying  them  all  over  again. 

The  lake  lies  as  nature  made  it  and  the  red  men  left 
it.  The  shores  are  not  marred  by  any  traces  of  civil 
ization,  and  the  tall  prairie  grass  comes  boldly  down 
and  dips  itself  in  the  crystal  waters ;  and  the  lofty  old 
trees  throw  their  long  shadows  over  it  in  weird  silence, 
the  same  as  when  the  runners  of  Black  Hawk  beat  up 
for  warriors  through  all  the  region  against  General 
Atkinson,  and  Samoset,  two  centuries  earlier,  welcomed 
Englishmen  to  our  eastern  shores.  The  log  cabin  of 
our  milkman,  a  herdsman,  is  the  nearest  evidence  of 
the  inexorable  progress  of  the  age,  which  is  so  fast 
using  up  and  ruining  this  virgin  country. 

Even  now,  the  most  of  us  who  covet  the  manly  and 
invigorating  sport  must  ride  days  and  hundreds  of 
miles  to  find  a  wolf,  bear,  deer,  or  wild  turkey.  It  is 
sad  to  think  of.  For  years  I  have  seldom  been  able  to 
find  a  quiet  nook  for  rest  in  the  wilderness  free  from 


12  INTRODUCTORY. 

settlers,  neighbors,  and  travellers.  Somebody  would  be 
there.  Once  I  thought  I  was  secure  from  intrusion, 
twenty  miles  into  the  woods  from  any  settlement;  but 
at  ten  o'clock  one  night  two  men  entered  our  shanty, 
asking  for  supper  and  lodgings.  We  gave  them  veni 
son  stew  and  the  front  room,  first  floor.  One  of  them  has 
since  been  candidate  for  governor  in  the  State  of  Maine. 
If  elected  ever,  I  shall  claim  of  him  a,  consideration 
for  that  mess  of  pottage.  The  truth  is,  this  new  coun 
try  is  already  nearly  spoiled  by  "  settlements ; "  and, 
if  not  too  late,  Congress  should  reserve  a  square  in  our 
western  interior,  six  hundred  miles  on  a  side,  taking  in 
a  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  both  banks  of  the 
Missouri,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  on  which 
any  improvements  beyond  tent  pins  should  be  forever 
prohibited. 

But  my  feelings  betray  me  into  a  wandering.  I  was 
speaking  of  Swan  Lake,  its  grassy  and  wooded  shores, 
its  witching  nooks  and  bays,  and  its  long  reaches  of 
glassy  surface.  Here  the  wild  fowl  hold  holidays,  and 
the  timid  deer  drinks  once  and  looks  up,  and  the  glossy 
turkey  picks  up  the  myriads  of  little  shells.  Two  miles 
of  heavy,  deep,  original  forest  on  the  west,  and  you 
come  to  the  Mississippi,  over  against  the  mouth  of  the 
Iowa.  Below  you  is  Sturgeon  Bay,  a  large  eddy  of 
miles  that  the  Mississippi  has  worn  into  the  Illinois 
shore,  and  through  which  the  overflow  of  Swan  Lake 
runs  direct  to  New  Orleans. 

This  whole  region,  in  which  our  temporary  canvas 
village  is  located,  is  a  saucer-like  depression  of  the 
bottom  lands  on  the  Illinois  shore,  covering  a  diameter 
of  ten  miles  or  more.  In  this  area  are  lakes  and  ponds, 


INTKODUCTOKY.  13 

lagoons,  creeks,  and  marshes,  upland,  lowland,  and 
woodland,  and  grassland,  all  as  wild  as  game  or  hunter 
can  wish. 

Who  are  we  in  such  an  out-of-the-way  place  ?  This 
is  a  very  proper  question  for  you  to  ask ;  and  indeed,  if 
you  did  not  ask  it,  I  could  not  well  go  on  with  my 
narrative.  We  are  seventeen  men  strong,  with  a  few 
rollicking  boys  thrown  in.  We  stack  twenty  guns  and 

more.  We  are  the  D Hunting  Club ;  that  is  to 

say,  we  are  the  club  regular  on  its  annual  excursion, 
with  a  number  of  guests  regular.  If  you  are  curious  to 
know  who  in  particular  we  are,  and  whence  we  came,  I 
must  go  back  a  little  in  my  story,  and  up  stream  some 
what  from  our  encampment. 

At  the  levee,  somewhere,  —  I  cannot  be  exact,  —  lies 
a  steamer,  puffing,  pulling,  and  paddling.  Between  her 
and  Front  Street  are  men  in  squads  and  single,  going 
back  and  forth.  They  carry  guns,  and  bundles,  and 
boxes,  overcoats,  robes,  and  camp  blankets.  Store  boys 
and  draymen  are  loaded  with  groceries,  vegetables,  and 
ammunition  chests.  Here  a  lad  holds  a  pointer  in  leash, 
and  there  go  two  or  three  setters  over  the  gangway  of 
the  steamer.  A  couple  of  men  carry  on  board  a  small, 
sharp-pointed  boat,  bow  and  stern  alike,  and  lay  it 
carefully  on  the  guards;  two  more  place  a  similar 
boat  on  the  opposite  guards ;  and  a  third  and  fourth 
boat  is  shipped,  and  so  on,  till  seven  of  them  are  care 
fully  bestowed  and  made  fast.  Also  six  hunting  dogs 
are  made  fast  on  the  asthmatic  and  uneasy  craft. 

Now  the  last  things  are  put  on  board.  There  a  run 
ner  goes  for  an  extra  gun,  and  another  for  the  forgotten 
bags  of  shot,  number  eight  for  quail,  and  number  four 


14  INTRODUCTORY. 

for  mallard.  The  lastlies  are  shipped  again,  and  we  are 
about  to  cast  off,  when  The  General,  by  his  inevitable 
memorandum,  finds  out  that  but  one  of  the  two  tubs  of 
butter  has  come  down,  and  that  lulus  has  no  buckskin 
gloves  for  a  frosty  morning  hunt.  Now  the  butter 
comes  and  the  gloves,  after  much  waiting  and  shouting, 
and  miscellaneous  talking.  So  we  all  go  on  board. 
Just  as  Jack  is  hauling  in  the  plank,  one  of  our  men 
rushes  back  for  his  howling  setter,  tied  to  the  wheat 
scales,  thirty  yards  up  the  broad  levee.  Then  our  last- 
lies  continue,  like  those  of  a  long  and  poorly-arranged 
sermon.  In  a  brief  lull  of  them  Jack  gives  the  plank 
another  and  desperate  pull,  and  we  swing  off  into  the 

stream,  just  when  Mrs. sends  down  a  cold  roast  of 

beef,  for  the  first  night  in  camp.  The  yawl  secures  the 
roast  for  us ;  and  shouts  and  salvos  follow  us,  till  we  are 
far  down  the  majestic  river,  and  beyond  hearing. 

Fairly  afloat,  all  luggage  properly  stowed  and  made 
fast,  the  seven  boats  lashed,  and  the  seven  dogs  tied, 
and  we  all  beginning  to  feel  quiet  and  at  home  on  the 
craft  that  is  to  run  us  sixty  miles  down  stream,  it 
would  be  a  good  time  for  you,  if  still  anxious  to  know 
who  and  what  we  all  are,  to  walk  about  the  boat,  and 
make  inquiries  and  observations,  and  notes,  too,  if  you 
please. 

All  counted,  you  will  find  just  a  score  of  us,  though 
the  dogs  are  as  worthy  to  be  reckoned  in,  on  the  scale 
of  importance,  as  many  "persons,"  in  taking  the  census, 
and  on  election  days.  The  club  proper  is  well  rep 
resented  by  the  honorable  callings  —  merchants  of  dry 
goods,  grocers,  manufacturers,  and  real  estate  dealers, 
bankers,  and  gentlemen  of  leisure. 


INTRODUCTORY.  15 

It  would  not  be  courteous  in  me,  a  guest,  to  be  more 
personal  and  particular  in  speaking  of  the  members 
themselves  of  this  honorable  association.  Of  the  gentle 
men  invited  to  share  in  the  luxuries  and  excitements 
of  this  annual  excursion,  there  is  a  fur  merchant  from 
Detroit,  with  hunting  boat  and  dog  packed  all  the  way ; 
a  banker  and  old  Rocky  Mountain  trader  from  St. 
Louis ;  also  a  gentleman  from  the  same  city  ;  an  Eastern 
New  Yorker,  business  unknown,  but  a  good  shot  and 
camp  fellow  ;  two  gentlemen  from  Georgetown,  District 
of  Columbia,  far  enough  from  the  capital  to  be  safe 
companions ;  a  young  Hungarian,  said  to  be  of  noble 
blood,  a  noble  hunter  at  least,  which  is  often  better ; 
an  Eastern  pilgrim,  with  a  title  that  would  allow  him 
to  be  converted  into  a  chaplain  for  this  Nimrod  regi 
ment,  if  occasion  required  ;  also  a  little  lulus  of  twelve 
years,  following  this  pilgrim  father. 

It  would  not  be  patronizing  to  the  rising  race  in  our 
land,  nor  show  well  for  The  General  of  this  campaign, 
if  I  should  fail  to  call  your  attention  to  those  two 
colored  boys  lounging  about  the  steward's  door,  and 
among  the  firemen  of  the  boat.  They  are  Dock  and 
Rube.  When  we  are  fortunate  enough  to  pitch  our 
camp,  they  are  to  serve  as  a  pair  of  dark  hyphens  to 
connect  the  provisions  above  mentioned  with  the  tent 
above  mentioned,  that  is  to  serve  as  our  dining  hall. 
They  arc  to  be  the  sable  gods  of  the  camp  fire,  larder, 
and  table,  converting  flesh,  fish,  and  fowl  into  food,  and 
hungry  hunters  into  story-tellers  and  jolly  idlers. 

Dock  is  a  veteran  in  this  service.  You  will  see  at  a 
glance  that  he  is  professional  in  his  character,  and  a 
travelled  gentleman.  He  takes  the  boat  easily,  and  the 


16  INTRODUCTORY. 

trip,  and  all  on  board.  Nothing  disturbs  him,  or  sur 
prises  him,  or  interests  him.  His  time  has  not  come  to 
assume  the  airs  of  office  and  responsibility.  When  he 
comes  to  look  after  that  part  of  the  human  system 
where  so  many  insurrections  start  and  stop  —  the 
stomach — he  will  rise  up  to  due  and  dignified  propor 
tions.  He  knows  what  a  camp  kettle  is,  and  has  almost 
as  many  ways  to  serve  up  a  fowl  as  Alexander's  cook  is 
reported  to  have  had  —  a  new  method  for  each  day  in 
the  year.  For  Dock  has  set  the  tent  table  for  General 
Harney  on  almost  all  the  rivers  and  prairies  between 
the  Mississippi  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  savory 
odors  of  broiled  buffalo  hump,  and  beaver-tail  soup,  of 
the  roasting  ribs  of  the  mountain  sheep,  and  of  elk,  and 
venison,  and  antelope  steaks,  have  gone  up  from  his 
camp  fires  on  many  a  river  bank,  and  bleak  prairie,  and 
mountain  glen.  The  steam  of  his  hissing  kettles  of  tea 
and  coffee  have  made  many  an  Indian  camp  follower 
wish  he  was  a  white  man  in  the  American  army,  push 
ing  civilization,  with  wages  at  eight  dollars  a  month. 
Smoke  and  sunshine,  sleet  and  drizzle,  never  spoiled  for 
us,  I  will  here  say  in  advance,  one  of  his  good  dinners. 
Blessings  be  on  that  African  fur  the  broils  and  roasts, 
the  gravies  and  pastries,  that  he  gave  us  hungry  fel 
lows  in  great  abundance  and  at  all  hours.  May  his 
shadow  never  be  less,  or  his  shade  darker. 

Of  ebony  Rube  I  cannot  say  so  much.  lie  does  not 
date  back  in  his  origin  to  the  first  family  of  anybody. 
He  has  no  reputation  to  sustain,  his  own  or  a  master's. 
He  is  a  gentleman  of  ease,  wishing  to  see  the  world, 
and  willing  to  work  his  own  way  in  doing  it.  Hr 
attached  himself  to  our  expedition  because  we  show 


INTRODUCTORY.  17 

signs  of  good  living,  good  company,  and  a  lively  time. 
He  takes  naturally  to  gentlemen  in  easy  circumstances, 
and  to  adventurous,  out-of-the-way  excursions.  The 
portly  bearing  and  the  genial,  hearty  face  of  The 
General  specially  led  him  to  offer  his  important  services 
on  this  occasion. 

Not  to  confuse  my  readers  with  too  many  charactersy 
or  be  obliged,  midway  in  the  narrative,  to  dispose  of 
any  dramatically?  after  the  manner  of  the  sensational 
novelist^  let  me  here,  in  advance  of  time,  declare  the 
end  of  poor  Rube.  When  we  came  into  camp  he  did 
not  see  the  world  as  widely,  or  as  fast,  as  he  expected. 
Having  an  undue  ambition  to  rise  too  rapidly,  he  could 
not  see  that  keeping  camp  fires  ablaze,  and  picking 
geese,  teal,  and  snipe,  was  the  true  line  for  his  success* 
Dock  could  not  make  the  unlettered  fellow  realize  that 
he  was  in  the  very  best  of  society,  enlarging  his  knowl 
edge  of  men  and  things,  and  rising  in  the  world,  by 
scaling  bass  and  pike,  and  skinning  deer,  catfish,  and 
coons.  The  simple  one  did  not  know  when  he  was 
well  off,  and  so  struck  out  into  the  cold  world  of  the 
settlements  again.  Ambitious  for  city  life,  he  left  our 
select  society,  and  started  for  the  mixed  multitude  of 
New  Boston. 

Riding  into  camp,  one  afternoon,  from  the  distant 

ridges  of  corn  and  wheat,  The  General  and  myself  met 

Rube,  with  boots  by  his  side,  just  after  fording  a  creek. 

He  was  washing  his   ebony   feet,  to   begin  again   his 

travels   in   search    of  society,  sights,  and  adventures. 

So  he  was  lost  to  fame  —  a  sad  warning  to  an  excessive 

aibition  that  is  impatient  of  the  slow,  sure  steps  of 

~ig  that  come  with  being  in  the  best  society. 


18  INTRODUCTORY. 

I  have  said  that  I  cannot  speak  particularly  of  the 
members  of  this  Hunting  Club.  An  exception  must  be 
made  of  one,  whom  I  have  called  The  General,  since  he 
is  the  body  and  soul  of  this  narrative.  The  president 
of  the  organization  for  this  year,  he  is  its  animating 
centre.  All  the  members  are  intelligent,  active  busi 
ness  men,  and  in  civil,  social,  and  religions  affairs  they 
expend  their  energies.  They  choose  this  mode  of 
taking  a  few  days'  reprieve  from  the  pressure  of  daily 
cares  running  through  the  year.  Neighbors,  and  old 
friends  of  long  and  tried  fellowship,  they  have  now 
thrown  off  work,  and  put  their  hearts  together  for  rest 
and  enjoyment.  The  General  has  given  himself,  soul 
and  body,  to  the  excursion.  Full  of  life  and  good 
humor,  of  which  you  can  see  his  whole  face  is  tell-tale, 
he  is  glad  with  everybody,  and  makes  everybody  glad. 
He  has  an  eye,  as  chief,  to  the  business  in  hand,  and 
sees  that  luggage,  stores,  and  guns  are  in  safe  packing 
and  keeping.  He  knows  the  officers  of  the  packet  and 
the  river  interests,  and  talks  with  every  one. 

Follow  him  on  deck  and  you  will  notice  that  he 
gives  the  history  of  every  town  we  pass,  for  he  has  seen 
it  start  from  its  first  rude  cabins.  He  scans  the  shores 
of  every  island  with  the  eye  of  an  old  acquaintance,  for 
he  meandered  and  plotted  all  of  them  for  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States,  from  the  mouth  of  Rock 
River  to  Quincy,  when  more  canoes  than  steamers 
played  around  these  shores  and  among  these  channels. 

A  stiff  breeze  up  stream  —  almost  a  gale  —  compels 
us  to  struggle  in  a  zigzag  down  stream.  Now  the 
wind  shoots  us  into  the  woody  shores,  and  now  up  and 
across.  We  weary  of  it.  Let  us  go  into  the  saloon. 


INTRODUCTORY.  19 

The  stories  of  The  General  make  us  forget  head  winds. 
Some  reminiscence  of  California  in  1850,  the  cane- 
brakes  and  bears  of  the  Yazoo  in  1836,  interviews 
with  Keokuk  and  Black  Hawk,  the  keen  joke,  the  cool, 
smooth  repartee,  and  good-natured  argument,  fill  the 
cabin  with  life,  and  all  of  us  with  good  humor.  The 
General  leads  us  off  because  he  cannot  help  it,  and  we 
do  not  care  to.  I  may  say  here  that  we  all  call  him 
The  General,  just  as  he  has  been  called  for  years.  He 
took  the  title,  without  a  commission,  from  leading  a 
company  over  the  plains  to  California  in  1850.  The 
title  was  confirmed  to  him  for  heading  expeditions  to 
and  from  Montana  and  Idaho,  by  the  common  land 
route  and  by  the  Missouri.  Little  care  we  which  way 
the  wind  blows,  so  merry  a  company  are  we.  On  deck 
or  below  no  sorry  face  is  seen. 

And  so,  curious  reader,  your  proper  questions,  who 
we  are  and  whence  we  came,  are  answered. 

The  steamer  lands  us  in  the  deep  twilight.  A  house 
of  one  story  and  four  rooms,  fortunately  empty,  and 
rented  for  us  by  The  General  for  the  emergency,  re 
ceives  us.  Stores,  armament,  cold  provisions,  a  tem 
porary  stove,  and  the  steam  of  hot  coffee  fill  one  room 
in  twenty  minutes.  The  dogs  are  made  fast,  each  in  a 
corner,  in  the  rear  rooms.  Robes,  blankets,  and  snoring 
hunters  soon  cover  the  floor  of  the  remaining  one. 
Energetic  fleas,  old  enough,  apparently,  to  have  known 
La  Salle  and  Marquctte,  and  the  howling  dogs  divided 
the  hours  for  us  between  sleeping  and  waking.  So 
passed  the  night,  while  we  wished  for  the  day,  and  our 
destination. 

The  day  came  in  easier  than  we  came  into  camp  at 


20  INTRODUCTORY, 

the  close  of  it.  The  fleas,  the  howlings,  and  the  dark 
ness  leave  us  in  their  own  provokingly  leisurely  way. 

"  Aurora,  now,  fair  daughter  of  the  dawn, 
Sprinkles  with  rosy  light  the  dewy  lawn." 

Only  it  should  be  said  that  in  those  two  lines  Homer 
does  not  refer  to  New  Boston,  whose  lawn  is  sand 
ankle  deep  around  our  temporary  abode. 

We  divide  our  forces  in  proceeding  to  the  hunting- 
grounds.  A  part  of  the  boats  are  manned,  and  attempt 
the  passage  through  Sturgeon  Bay>  and  up  the  outlet  of 
Swan  Lake.  The  remainder  of  the  company,  with  the 
other  boats  and  the  freight,  load  two  double  teams,  and 
proceed  to  the  same  rendezvous  by  a  ten  miles'  land 
route.  How  the  boats  went  the  last  few  miles  by  land 
up  a  dry  creek,  with  mud  bottom,  and  how  the  teams 
went  by  water  through  muck  and  bog,  over  what  in 
Illinois  they  have  a  fashion  of  calling  a  road,  I  will  not 
delay  the  reader  to  tell.  Each  party  wished  they  had 
gone  the  other  way,  specially  when  midway  they 
seemed  unable  to  go  back  or  forward,  and  were  in 
grave  doubts  whether  they  belonged  to  the  land  or 
water  division. 

In  the  sunny  afternoon  of  that  hazy  October  day  we 
all  straggle  in,  muddy,  jaded,  and  jolly,  wondering 
together  whether  that  part  of  Illinois  was  listening 
when  it  was  said,  "  Let  the  waters  be  gathered  together 
unto  one  place,  and  let  the  dry  land  appear."  But 
Dock  is  ready  for  us  with  a  cold  lunch  and  hot  coifee, 
as  we  come  on  the  ground,  single  and  in  squads,  like  a 
regiment  very  recently  from  Bull  Kun. 

"We  hang  up  a  fair   show  of  game,  that  we  have 


INTRODUCTORY.  21 

picked  up  in  our  rambling  land-and-water  journey,  and 
fall  readily  to  lounging  in  our  freshly-spread  tents. 
Evening  creeps  over  forest  and  lake,  while  the  rum 
bling  of  the  returning  wagons  dies  away  in  the  dis 
tance.  The  fires  give  our  white  tents  a  beautiful  set 
ting  against  the  dark  background  of  night,  and  light 
up  the  tall  old  trees  over  us.  The  dogs,  now  well  fed, 
crouch  about  the  burning  logs,  and  stretch  themselves 
to  sleep  among  our  feet.  The  boys  pile  on  the  light 
wood,  and  the  men  smoke  and  gossip  over  the  comic 
and  serious  incidents  of  our  amphibious  life  for  the  day. 
The  General  issues  the  field  orders  for  the  morrow,  to 
wit :  Breakfast  at  sunrise,  a  miscellaneous  hunt  between 
sun  and  sun,  each  going  where  he  pleases  and  bringing 
in  what  game  he  can,  and  dinner  at  the  old  conference- 
meeting  time  —  "  early  candle  lighting." 

One  by  one  we  leave  the  cheerful  brands  for  blanket 
and  buffaloes ;  the  fires  grow  paler,  and  the  company 
thinner,  till  the  last  voice  dies  away  and  the  last  tent 
candle  goes  out.  The  drowsy  blazes  nod  away  into 
smoke,  the  coals  creep  in  between  the  white  sheets  of 
feathery  embers,  and  the  very  camp  fire  itself  falls 
asleep. 


THE  GENERAL; 

OK, 

m  tfo  §totttew'  (top 


FIRST  NIGHT. 

PERSONS  familiar  with  wilderness  life  have  no 
ticed  that  morning  follows  night  there  with  nearly 
the  same  regularity  as  in  old  and  settled  regions, 
where  things  have  got  into  a  kind  of  system.  We 
notice  this  in  the  first  morning  of  our  life  at  Swan 
Lake.  The  dawn  comes  in  on  time,  fresh  and  full 
through  the  tree-tops,  and  mingles  its  golden  flashes 
with  the  silver  ripples  of  the  lake.  The  squirrels, 
gray,'  and  red,  and  fox,  are  chattering  and  running 
from  tree  to  tree  over  our  heads,  disturbed  by  the 
novel  entrance  of  our  canvas  village  and  camp  fires ; 
the  ducks  are  calling  to  each  other  across  the  lake  and 
down  the  creek,  and  the  noisy  geese  are  announcing 
their  departure  for  the  grain  fields,  twenty  miles  away. 
The  delightful  odors  of  Dock's  cuisine  come  tempt 
ingly  along  our  semicircular  street,  hurrying  up  our 
brief  toilet.  But  we  pay  fair  attention  to  the  outer 
man. 

(23) 


24  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

Some  semicivilized  fisherman  once  gave  me  a  good 
lesson  on  this,  while  boarding  at  a  log  shanty  at  the 
Middle  Dam,  on  the  Androscoggin.  The  rude  fel 
lows,  with  alder  poles  ami  cod-hooks,  were  essaying 
the  noble  art  of  trout-fishing.  They  slept  in  their  day 
gear,  and  with  the  first  blush  and  stir  of  morning- 
rushed,  unwashed  and  unkempt,  to  the  choicest  fish 
ing  localities.  They  went  as  liens  from  the  roost, 
their  undress  being  also  full  dress.  Shade  of  St.  Izaak 
the  angler!  that  a  man  should  presume  to  show  an 
unwashed,  face  at  a  mountain  stream,  or  touch  a  trout 
with  atif  imclfeaji  hand  I  Sportsmen  should  not  soil  wild 
nature  with  their  untidiness. 

Our  toilet  is  finished,  and  we  step  out.  The  man 
who  has  not  slept  in  a  hunter's  tent  does  not  know 
what  it  means  to  wake  up  in  the  morning  feeling  all 
right.  Languor,  headache,  an  embittered  mouth,  and 
indifferent  stomach  belong  to  first-class  hotels.  It  has 
been  a  problem,  with  naturalists  and  theologians,  why 
the  antediluvians  lived  to  so  great  an  age.  Let  the 
puzzled  commentators  spend  a  few  vacations  in  camp, 
and  dream  under  canvas,  and  the  hard  facts  subjected 
to  tent  dreams  will  come  clear.  Those  old  men  of  im 
mense  age  lived  in  tents  all  their  days.  Methuselah 
never  heard  of  a  French  roof,  Gothic  cottage,  or  saw 
a  frame  house.  As  men  began  to  forsake  tents  for 
houses,  human  life  began  to  be  shortened.  We  com 
mend  this  fact  to  the  careful  consideration  of  the 
next  editors  of  De  Wette  and  Bleek,  and  Keil  and 
Delitzscb,  and  Lange,  Pustkuchew,  and  Staehelin. 

While  the  sun  is  turning  the  first  half  hour  on  the 
dial  we  take  our  breakfast.  Then  come  the  rattling, 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.          25 

•and  clicking,  and  snapping,  and  flashing  of  guns ;  the 
barking,  and  frolicking,  and  whining  of  dogs;  the  dip 
ping  of  oars,  and  the  tramping  of  hunters  this  way  and 
that,  as  we  start  out  for  the  day. 

Of  course  my  readers  (always  comfortably  presum 
ing  that  I  have  some)  do  not  care  to  have  me  tell  them 
in  particular  where  we  went,  each,  and  all  we  did. 
My  narrative  would  thus  become  as  long  as  the  Baby 
lonian  Talmud  and  Xenophon's  Retreat  of  the  Ten 
Thousand  united.  Let  it  suffice,  then,  that  I  start  your 
fancy  after  us  by  mentioning  deep  forests,  lake  shores, 
bottom  prairie,  shrivelled  creeks  here  and  there,  the 
delight  of  mallard  and  teal,  ponds  six  miles  off,  oak 
openings,  the  resort  of  turkeys,  and  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi  at  two  or  three  points.  Your  fancy  may 
follow  us  over  all  this  wild  and  wide  region  till  high 
noon  and  the  near  nightfall ;  and  you  may  follow  our 
diverging  and  intersecting  paths  by  our  frequent  re 
ports  echoing  far  and  near. 

The  lengthening  shadows  of  the  declining  sun  turn 
us  tent-ward,  and  from  our  many  and  wayward  courses 
of  the  morning  we  all  converge  again,  with  the  twilight, 
under  the  grand  old  trees.  Flushed  with  the  success 
of  the  first  day's  hunt,  we  look  with  no  little  satisfac 
tion  on  the  trophies  brought  in.  Here  it  hangs  in  the 
light  glare  of  the  camp  fires,  weighing  down  many  a 
lusty  limb  and  sapling.  The  variety  would  do  honor 
to  Quincy  Market. 

And  now  begin  the  tales  of  the  day's  exploits.  Each 
must  tell  what  he  did,  and  how,  and  what  he  failed  to 
do,  speak  of  the  game  that  escaped  him,  and  show 
what  he  bagged.  Supper  does  not  break  off  the  cross- 


26  THE    GENERAL,    OK 

ing  and  somewhat  tangled  threads  of  discourse.  With 
new  vigor  we  start  off  again  in  our  narratives  on  the 
logs  and  camp  chairs  along  the  blazing  pile. 

"  Tis  blithe  at  eve  to  tell  the  tale, 
How  we  succeed,  and  how  we  fail." 

By  degrees  other  times  and  hunts  come  up  in  re 
view,  and  each  is  left  to  declare  his  own  wonderful 
experiences  in  forest  and  frontier  life.  Buck,  and  bear, 
and  huge  fish  come  into  the  foreground  of  story,  with 
now  and  then  an  antelope,  or  grizzly,  or  buffalo,  brought 
in  by  our  Rocky  Mountain  member.  The  General  has 
some  rare  bits  of  personal  adventure  in  Mississippi  cane- 
brakes,  the  North-West  Territory,  Indians  on  the  Plains, 
and  California  in  its  second  summer,  a  bear's  paw  law 
suit  in  Central  New  York,  and  coons  in  the  Old  Bay 
State  thirty  and  forty  years  ago.  An  experience  so 
rich,  and  varied,  and  exciting,  all  agree  should  not  re 
main  untold.  The  General  is,  therefore,  compelled  to 
promise  a  chapter  of  personal  adventures  for  each  night 
in  camp.  Securing  so  much  in  promise,  all  become 
earnest  for  a  beginning  on  this  first  night  of  our  first 
hunt.  The  old  pioneer,  finding  himself  cornered,  and 
withal  not  unwilling  to  tell  a  good  story,  and  fully  able 
to  the  task,  glided  off  into  his  theme,  as  a  birch  canoe 
into  the  current,  and  feeling  equally  at  home  in  the 
element. 


THE   ACOEN. 

"An  old  land  surveyor,  like  me,  must  have  a  stake  to 
start  from  in  running  his  lines ;  and  in  chasing  a  deer, 
or  fox,  or  prairie  wolf,  you  must  begin  somewhere.  I 
have  no  tact  in  beginning  a  story  in  the  middle  and 
spinning  it  out  both  ways.  So,  if  you  want  to  know 
how  this  old  oak  got  its  tough  limbs  and  portly  trunk, 
you  must  go  back  with  me  to  the  acorn.  Another 
big  armful  of  that  light  wood,  Rube.  My  early  days 
were  bright  and  cheerful,  and  I  cannot  tell  them  over 
here  in  the  dark.  I  want  a  cheerful  camp  fire  to  set 
them  off  well. 

"Among  the  green  hills  of  New  England,  not  far 
from  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  old  town  of  Monson, 
Mass.,  I  was  born.  I  do  not  distinctly  recall  the 
fact,  but  I  am  told  it  was  on  the  25th  of  September, 
1806.  My  father  was  a  native  of  Thompson,  Conn., 
and  my  mother  of  Sudbury,  Mass.  By  industry  and 
perseverance  they  saved  enough  from  the  hard  toil  of 
their  own  hands  to  purchase  a  small  farm  there  in 
Monson.  This  my  father  tilled  for  the  support  of  his 
family,  of  which  I  was  the  third  child.  * 

"  Of  the  early  struggles  of  my  parents  for  a  living 
among  the  rocks  and  barrens  of  this  portion  of  the 
state  I  have  but  little  knowledge,  and  can  judge  only 
from  my  early  impressions  and  the  history  of  those 
youthful  days,  as  told  over  by  members  of  the  family 
long  afterwards.  A  part  of  the  old  farm  where  I  was 


28  THE    GEXERAL,    OR 

born  is  now  included  in  the  grounds  of  the  State 
Alrnshouse.  I  hope  the  poor  inmates  get  a  better 
living  than  the  land  would  furnish.  Somebody  has 
found  a  place  to  wedge  in  two  very  pretty  lines  of 
poetry  between  those  Yankee  acres  of  rock :  — 

'  But  man's  the  nobler  growth  our  realm  supplies, 
And  souls  are  nurtured  in  these  northern  skies.' 

"  I  cannot  tell  about  the  poetry.  I  found  it  a  good 
place  to  leave.  By  hard  labor,  prudence,  and  economy, 
my  parents  made  the  farm  porduce  the  necessaries  of 
life,  and  with  these  there  came  contentment  and  hap 
piness.  The  week  was  spent  in  earnest,  honest  labor, 
and  every  return  of  the  Sabbath  found  them,  with  their 
children,  in  their  accustomed  pew,  in  Dr.  Ely's  church, 
about  two  miles  away. 

"The  region  was  wild  and  picturesque,  and  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  my  home  were  barren  and  rocky 
hills,  or  mountains,  as  the  people  there  called  them, 
unfit  for  cultivation,  and  visiteql  only  by  hunters.  At 
no  great  distance  was  the  brook,  where  I  learned  to 
catch  the  speckled  trout,  and  in  the  deep  glens,  and 
among  the  alders,  I  often  started  up  the  partridge  and 
rabbit  from  their  secluded  haunts.  Here,  in  this  re 
tired  and  romantic  spot,  I  received  my  first  impressions 
of  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  mountains,  and  valleys, 
and  streams,  and  meadows. 

"  From  an  old  coon-hunter  by  the  name  of  Moulten 
I  first  listened  to  the  exciting  stories  of  the  chase,  of  a 
winter  evening,  while  every  now  and  then  he  would  stop 
to  replace  the  brands  between  the  great  andirons  of  his 
kitchen  fire.  Although  then  quite  young,  I  often  went 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.          29 

with  him  in  his  hunting  rambles  over  the  mountains. 
So,  early  in  life  the  fondness  for  hunting,  and  the  love 
of  vvild  scenes  in  nature,  were  impressed  on  my  mind, 
and  did  much  to  shape  my  future  course,  as  will  be 
seen,  if  you  do  not  weary  of  my  stories,  and  turn  in 
before  I  am  done, 

"  It  was  here  that  I  first  took  my  seat  in  the  public 
school-house,  that  nursery  for  youth  everywhere  in 
New  England.  This  system  of  common  education  for 
all  has  led  many  a  poor  boy  from  the  paths  of  igno 
rance  and  vice,  to  gather  the  laurels  of  statesmen,  and 
heroes,  and  scholars. 

"The  pure  moral  and  religious  principles  of  my 
parents,  and  their  exemplary  life,  laid  the  foundation 
very  early  for  my  future  course,  and  they  have  been  a 
guide  and  comfort  to  me  in  all  the  years  since.  When 
storm  and  tempest  have  overtaken  me  on  the  moun 
tains,  and  hunger,  and  thirst,  and  weariness  have 
brought  me  to  an  empty  tent  at  night  on  the  dreary 
plains,  and  I  have  lain  down  only  to  think  of  the 
morrow  with  sadness  and  anxiety,  their  teachings  and 
example  have  kept  me  in  good  heart. 

"  But  I  must  not  tell  the  middle  of  my  story  at  the 
beginning.  The  storm,  and  the  desert,  and  hunger, 
and  the  Indian,  and  the  wild  beast  will  come  in  soon 
and  often  enough,  unless  you  can  enjoy  them  more 
than  I  did. 

"I  was  a  true  son  of  New  England,  and  I  think  I 
inherited  in  my  very  blood  the  earnest,  searching, 
adventurous  spirit  that  is  so  native  to  her  children. 
Early  trained  to  self-reliance  and  hardihood,  and  moved 
by  the  love  of  gain  and  adventure,  they  acquire  habits 


80  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

of  industry;  and  being  fond  of  travel,  research,  and 
incidents,  they  are  found  in  every  clime,  on  the  land 
and  on  the  sea,  speaking  all  languages,  adopting  the 
manners  of  all  nations,  and  taking  up  the  business  of 
all  peoples.  Their  indomitable  courage  and  perse 
verance  in  the  prosecution  of  any  undertaking  carry 
them  through  every  enterprise,  however  difficult  or 
hazardous.  These  are  the  characteristics  of  the  chil 
dren  of  that  icy,  rocky  region,  and  these  are  the  causes 
that  make  men  out  of  her  boys.  My  father  was  one  of 
those  self-made,  self-reliant  men,  full  of  energy  and 
ambition,  with  only  the  common-school  education  of  a 
few  weeks.  He  was  kind,  obliging,  always  ready  to 
deny  himself  to  do  another  a  favor.  The  exhibition 
of  his  daily  Christian  character,  his  pure  principles  and 
instructions,  were  a  constant  restraint  on  any  idleness 
or  waywardness  in  his  children.  So  it  was  with  my 
mother.  Her  Christian  character  and  usefulness  were 
prominent,  and  though  her  arduous  duties  in  a  family 
finally  often  children  pressed  heavily  on  her,  her  faith 
fulness  in  properly  bringing  them  up  never  wearied. 
They  both  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  and  died  in  comfort 
and  peace,  '  like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  in  his 
season.'  * 

"My  father  purchased  a  farm  in  ISTew  Braintree,  and 
removed  and  settled  on  it,  when  I  was  about  ten  years 
of  age.  Of  course  my  recollections  of  the  place  of  my 
birth  can  be  of  but  little  interest  to  any  one  of  you.  I 

*  The  father  died  in  Templeton,  Mass.,  March  12,  185G,  want 
ing  but  sixteen  days  of  eighty-three  years,  and  the  mother  at 
Foxboro',  Mass.,  July  17,  1858,  in  her  eighty-second  year.  — 
Editor. 


had  entered  the  district  school,  but  tradition  there  tells 
nothing  wonderful  about  me,  as  it  does  about  great 
men.  I  have  noticed  that  when  one  does  become  re- 
r  owned,  the  memories  of  those  who  tried  to  beat  dulness 
out  of  his  little  head  are  wonderfully  quickened. 

"My  wandering  propensities  gave  my  mother  no 
little  anxiety  and  watching.  At  that  early  age  I  was 
intent  on  discovering  some  new  place  or  thing.  The 
garden,  that  was  enclosed  by  a  stone  wall,  and  full  of 
shrubbery,  was,  in  my  imagination,  a  place  of  beauty 
and  pleasure  unsurpassed.  My  conception  of  the  Gar 
den  of  Eden,  as  I  had  heard  it  described  by  my  father 
in  his  reading  of  the  sacred  volume,  was  exactly  like  ours 
at  the  homestead.  When,  later  in  life,  I  revisited  the 
place  of  my  birth,  after  an  absence  of  almost  forty 
years,  I  found  the  garden  there  still  walled  in,  and  in 
all  its  primeval  beauty.  There  were  still  the  stone 
steps,  and  the  stone  curb  to  the  well,  with  the  'old 
oaken  bucket ; '  and  it  seemed  to  me  but  as  yesterday 
when  it  hung  there.  The  roots  of  the  old  grape-vine, 
that  grew  and  ran  in  the  corner  of  the  orchard,  were 
still  there.  I  led  the  way,  without  a  mistake,  to  some 
of  the  apple-trees  that  bore  choice  fruit,  and  from  which 
I  had  gathered  the  same  when  only  six  years  old.  I 
also  pointed  out  to  those  with  me  the  very  place  in  the 
garden,  where,  in  those  young  years,  I  went,  early  one 
morning,  in  search  of  the  tracks  of  the  Lord,  where  I 
supposed  he  must  have  *  walked  in  the  garden,  in  the 
cool  of  the  day,'  as  I  had  heard  my  father  read  in 
Holy  Writ. 

"But  I  think  you  have  seen  enough  of  the  acorn. 
Let  us  turn  in  for  a  good  sleep  against  a  rousing  hunt 


32  THE    GENEKAL,    OK 

to-morrow.     Those    turkeys  must   not   give    you   tire 
slip  again." 

This  last  remark  The  General  made  with  a  turn  of 
the  head  towards  the  chaplain,  and  so  the  company 
broke  up  for  the  night. 

I  have  called  this  the  First  Night,  because  the  one 
in  the  vacant  house  was  not  in  camp,  and  the  other 
merely  m'arked  our  arrival,  with  none  of  the  incidents 
and  accompaniments  proper  of  our  excursion.  Really 
the  stories  of  The  General  became  our  chronometer, 
We  dated  our  hunt  from  the  beginning  of  his  narra 
tive,  and,  as  will  be  seen,  closed  it  and  broke  camp 
when  he  was  done. 

Quiet  settled  over  our  grounds.  Only  the  feeble 
snapping  of  the  dying  fires  could  be  heard  near  us.  To 
one  who  has  never  indulged  the  luxury  I  cannot  give 
a  full  idea  of  the  comfort,  the  kind  of  sovereign  easi 
ness  and  peace,  with  which  a  hunter  falls  asleep  for 
the  night  in  his  tent.  No  keys  and  bolts  click,  sug 
gestive  of  robbery;  no  carriages  clatter  by,  making 
night  hideous;  no  sounds  of  any  farm-house  or  village. 
Nature  is  not  annoyed  by  any  of  these  impertinences. 
You  may  be  sure  the  only  noise,  nigh  or  far,  is  made 
by  game  of  some  kind.  It  may  be  the  sharp  bark  of 
the  fox,  or  the  half  snarl  and  yelp  of  the  prairie  wolfj 
or  the  flap  and  dash  into  the  water  of  those  geese  re 
turning  late  from  the  cornfields,  or  muskrat  and  otter 
may  be  taking  their  nightly  baths  and  frolics.  But 
you  and  wild  nature  are  alone,  and  you  glide  off  into 
sleep  as  those  who  hear  plcasantest  music,  or  drop  away 
into  the  dream  land  of  the  lotos-eater. 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS*    CAMP.  33 


SECOND  NIGHT. 

DOCK  and  Rube,  the  seven  clogs,  the  young  dawn, 
an  awkward  sprinkle  of  damp  snow,  and  a  dozen, 
more  or  less,  of  washing,  combing,  and  dressing  hunters 
were  jumbled  together  about  the  morning  fires.  But 
plenty  of  wood  at  nothing  a  cord  soon  left  the  cooks 
masters  of  the  situation,  as  the  flames  mounted  higher 
and  the  beds  of  glowing  coals  spread  themselves.  Broils, 
roasts,  and  fries  in  due  time  smoked  in  the  U.  S.,  with 
the  hissing  and  aroma  of  old  Java  and  young  Hyson. 
It  has  always  been  a  mystery  to  me  that  a  man  in  the 
woods  could  make  such  gravies  so  early  in  the  morning. 
Our  appetites  came  in  the  same  mysterious  way,  and 
hot  biscuit,  halves  of  geese,  whole  teal,  and  crispy 
pike  went  in  the  same  manner.  Dock  smiled  aloud 
over  empty  plates  to  see  that  we  appreciated  his  ser 
vices.  The  dogs  shared  heartily  in  the  carnival,  while 
we  girded  on  pouches  and  flasks,  game  belts  and  bags. 
Then  how  they  frisked,  and  raced,  and  whined  to 
be  off! 

Thus  in  motion  and  confusion,  about  to  take  our 
lines  outward-bound  for  a  long  day,  we  were  as  goodly 
a  sight  to  look  upon  as  the  French  thought  the  com 
pany  of  Thomas  a  Becket  to  be,  when,  as  ambassador 
of  Henry  II.,  he  went  from  city  to  city,  escorted  by  his 
hounds  and  falconers,  with  hawks  on  their  wrists,  and 
3 


34  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

a  multitude  of  bowmen.  If  a  chancellor,  and  about  to 
be  archbishop,  could  do  all  that  in  a  foreign  land,  why 
not  we,  native  sovereigns  in  our  own  wilds. 

A  gang  of  lordly  turkeys  had  eluded  me  the  day 
before,  the  first  I  had  ever  attempted  to  stalk.  The 
impertinent  spit  of  snow,  therefore,  that  welcomed  us 
at  our  tent-fly  that  morning,  pleased  me,  for  I  knew  I 
could  strike  their  trail.  Giving  my  purpose  to  no  one, 
I  made  a  detour  for  the  opposite  shore  of  the  lake,  and 
came  warily  to  their  old  grounds.  What  was  my 
vexation  then,  as  I  hastened  over  a  narrow  tongue  of 
prairie,  with  oak  opening  on  cither  side  of  me,  to  see  a 
stranger  rifleman  on  my  right,  threading  out  their 
tracks  in  the  fast  disappearing  snow.  In  my  warmth 
I  made  a  savage  shot  on  a  woodcock,  and  with  turkey 
shot,  too,  as  it  foolishly  rose  from  the  open  grass. 
While  driving  home  my  lead  with  a  vexed  energy,  the 
sharp  crack  of  a  rifle  on  my  left  brought  my  eye  round, 
and  my  gun  into  readiness.  In  a  moment  a  turkey 
under  easy  sail  came  bearing  towards  me.  It  was  the 
work  of  an  instant,  and  the  noble  bird  feel  forty  yards 
away,  with  head  and  neck  cut  through  and  through. 
It  was  my  first  turkey.  No  New  York  stallman  ever 
hung  up  a  fowl  so  noble  in  my  eye.  The  glossy,  black 
wings,  the  tail  with  dark  bronze  bands,  and  the  royal 
and  rich  neck  plumage  tip  to  the  very  wattles!  I 
actually  felt  like  a  boy  of  ten  with  his  first  pheasant. 
It  graced  the  table  of  Madame  M.,  at  St.  Louis,  a  few 
days  afterwards.  More  of  the  same  flock  came  into  our 
dining  tent  before  we  quitted  the  encampment,  and 
their  flavor  is  not  yet  forgotten. 

But,  patient  reader,  you  will  not  care  to  follow  fifteen 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.          35 

hunters  all  day  over  that  saucer  of  bottom  land  ten 
miles  across.  Let  us  suppose  the  day  past,  go  back  to 
camp,  and  simply  make  note  of  what  they  bring  in.  If 
you  are  with  me  you  will  be  saved  some  travel  in  the 
return,  for  I  hail  a  boat  from  the  shore  opposite  our 
rendezvous,  and  am  spared  a  long  tramp  around  an 
arm  of  the  lake.  One  by  one  they  come  in  with  the 
twilight  shades,  and  throw  down  their  game  at  the  root 
of  the  monarch  hickory.  Now  a  dog  returns,  running 
up  familiarly  to  Rube  for  a  lunch.  We  know  what 
man  will  report  next,  and  soon  the  crackling  limbs  an 
nounce  that  dog's  master.  Then  you  hear  far  out  on 
the  lake  the  dip  of  oars  and  the  chuck  in  the  rowlocks, 
and  the  little  craft  by  and  by  glides  easily  up  on  the 
grassy  shore,  and  we  all  go  down  to  see  what  freight. 
One  or  two  linger  longer  than  the  twilight.  By  and 
by  two  shots  in  quick  succession  tell  that  some  poor 
fellow  is  studying  our  geography  in  the  dark,  and 
wants  to  know  which  way  the  camp  lies.  We  answer 
instantly  by  two  shots,  and  a  half  hour  brings  him  in. 
The  best  hunters  come  in  last,  for  they  bag  game 
as  long  as  they  can  see  it,  and  think  of  camp  after 
wards. 

But  they  are  all  in  now :  so,  while  supper  goes  on  the 
table,  let  us  count  up  the  game.  Turkey  leads  to-night, 
and  the  chaplain  is  cheered  for  his  maiden  shot  on  the 
noblest  feathered  game  that  ranges  in  our  western 
forests.  Geese  follow,  with  brant  close  behind;  then 
come  mallards  and  teal,  always  together  in  pond  or 
camp.  Sawbills  and  fish  ducks  we  do  not  count,  nor 
would  we  the  crested  wood  duck,  only  that  it  is  the 


36  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

most  beautiful  of  floating  game  in  America.  Two  or 
three  pheasants,  and  as  many  woodcock  —  both  rare 
birds  in  that  region,  and  the  delight  of  sportsmen  —  and 
partridges  by  the  dozen  —  we  call  them  quail  in  the 
east.  Jack  snipe  and  a  bunch  of  yellow  legs,  by  one 
man  who  went  down  the  creek  where  our  boats  came 
up  by  land  through  the  mud.  Five  prairie  chickens  — 
they  had  no  rights  in  the  low  land,  and  were  served  as 
wanderers  deserved.  Shall  we  count  the  squirrels  and 
that  comic-looking  coon  ?  Yes ;  all  that  can  be  eaten 
can  be  counted.  We  go  well  up  to  a  hundred  and 
twenty  pieces.  Next  we  assort  and  hang  them  together. 
How  they  grace  the  bending  hickory  and  pawpaw,  ash 
and  whitewood  saplings !  Just  to  look  at  the  array, 
now  in  the  camp-fire  light,  and  run  your  hand  over 
feathers  and  furs,  is  enough  to  put  new  life  into  every 
tired  bone  of  an  overworked  business  man.  Dyspeptic 
are  you  ?  Let  us  go  where  you  see  those  two  darkies 
carrying  in  dishes,  and  in  twenty  minutes  you  will 
deny  that  you  ever  heard  of  dyspepsia,  gastric  juice,  or 
even  a  stomach. 

It  is  a  marvel  that  one  a  little  dainty  in  his  food, 
liable  to  nightmare  and  horrid  dreams,  if  he  eats  flesh, 
fish,  or  fowl  at  home,  within  six  hours  of  bedtime,  can 
stow  away  so  much  meat  in  camp,  after  all  traces  of 
daylight  are  gone,  draw  a  blanket  over  himself,  and 
hear  nothing,  know  nothing,  till  Rube  calls  to  a  break 
fast  just  like  the  .  supper,  to  be  as  voraciously  de 
voured.  It  is  not  food,  but  business,  care,  and  worry 
that  make  so  many  dyspeptics,  and  supply  water-cures 
and  the  south  of  France  with  boarders.  The  Swan 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTEKS*    CAMP  37 

Lake  House,  managed  on  the  natural  plan  —  that  is,  our 
plan  —  that  gave  us  ^dominion  over  the  fish  of  the  lake 
and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air,"  would  upset  the  theories 
of  Sylvester  Graham  and  all  the  vegetarians. 

But  supper  waits,  first  course,  second  course,  third 
course,  and  then  we  wait  around  the  blazing  camp  fire 
to  hear  once  more  The  General. 


38  THE    GEXEEAL,    OR 


BOYHOOD,  AXD  THE  BEAR'S  PAW. 

"  I  said  that,  when  I  was  about  ten  years  old,  my 
father  moved  to  a  new  home.  In  this  I  soon  found 
much  to  excite  and  encourage  my  already  ardent  desire 
for  research  and  discovery.  Not  far  from  the  house 
there  was  an  old  hemlock  swamp,  almost  impassable  for 
man  or  beast.  This  dismal  wild  abounded  with  the  par 
tridge,  hare,  and  rabbit.  Here  I  soon  learned  to  snare, 
and  with  the  assistance  of  my  brothers  I  added  not  a 
little  to  the  supply  of  meat  for  the  table.  Fishing  also 
I  took  up  naturally;  and  there  was  no  pond  or  trout 
brook  in  all  the  region  with  which  I  did  not  in  a  little 
time  become  familiar.  In  the  summer  I  assisted  on  the 
farm,  and  in  the  winter  attended  the  district  school. 

"An  incident  occurred  about  this  time  which  showed 
that  my  financial  abilities  had  not  then  been  fully 
developed.  A  neighboring  boy,  who  had  been  out 
hunting,  called  on  me  one  day,  having  shot  a  red 
headed  woodpecker.  The  beauty  of  its  plumage,  and 
the  pleasure  of  a  close  examination  of  a  bird  I  had  so 
often  seen,  but  never  handled,  induced  me  at  once  to 
set  about  the  purchase  of  it.  After  many  trials  with 
the  boy  to  conclude  a  bargain,  and  having  no  money, 
and  needing  to  give  something  in  exchange,  I  offered 
him  my  fishing-line.  This  was  a  piece  of  boy's  property 
that  I  had  for  a  long  time  saved  pennies  to  purchase. 
The  offer  was  accepted,  the  exchange  made,  and  the 
boy  left  for  his  home. 


TWELVE    EIGHTS    IN    T.HE    HUNTERS*    CAMP.  39 

"  This  was  a  great  thing  for  me.  It  was  my  first 
important  bargain,  and  I  marched  into  the  house  with 
my  bird,  prouder  and  happier  by  far  than  I  ever  have 
been  since,  when  carrying  home  a  wild  goose  or  turkey, 
or  standing  over  a  deer,  or  the  struggling  buffalo  of  the 
plains. 

"  With  much  pride  I  exhibited  the  bird  to  my  mother, 
showing  its  glossy  plumage,  with  scarlet  head  and  half- 
white  wings.  When  my  father  saw  it,  he  at  once  in 
quired  how  I  came  by  it;  for  I  was  not  yet  permitted  to 
use  fire-arms.  Learning  that  I  had  given  my  valuable 
fishing-line  for  a  worthless  and  dead  bird,  he  took 
occasion,  as  his  custom  was  on  questions  of  morals,  and 
habits,  and  money,  to  speak  freely,  showing  the  perish 
able  nature  of  the  bird,  its  utter  worthlessuess,  and  the 
lolly  of  purchasing  bubbles  that  would  soon  burst.  He 
then  told  the  story  to  the  children  of  Franklin's  pur 
chase  of  the  whistle. 

"  1  presume  I  looked  ashamed.  I  hung  my  head, 
while  I  felt  keenly  both  the  reproof  and  the  loss  of  my 
line.  I  saw  very  clearly  that  I  had  paid  too  dear  for 
the  woodpecker.  It  was  a  profitable  purchase,  how 
ever,  taking  a  long  life  in  view.  That  early  investment 
in  a  dead  bird  has  paid  me  good  dividends  annually 
ever  since.  But  it  was  my  lather's  moralizing  that 
secured  their  payment.  Ever  after,  while  under  the 
parental  roof  and  about  to  make  a  trade,  my  father 
would  remind  me  of  paying  too  dear  for  a  dead  bird ; 
and  it  was  not  till  1855,  when  I  paid  him  my  last  visit^ 
in  his  eighty-second  year,  that  I  heard  from  him  the 
last  of  that  unfortunate  purchase,  which,  after  all, 
turned  out  so  welL 


40  THE    GENERAL,    OB 

"  The  few  years  that  I  remained  at  home,  and  before 
leaving  for  the  wide  world,  were  spent  in  working  the 
farm  and  attending  school.  But,  like  Walter  Scott,  I 
kept  up  my  field  sports.  No  fisher  on  the  Tweed 
could  spear  a  salmon  more  skilfully,  and  no  hunter  on 
the  Yarrow  was  a  Letter  rid-er  in  the  chase.  In  later 
days,  when  he  was  charming  the  world  with  his  pen,  he 
used  it  in  the  morning,  and  coursed  hares  in  the  after 
noon.  Many  were  the  lessons  taught  me  by  my  wor 
thy  parents,  not  of  agriculture  only,  but  of  industry, 
prudence,  caution,  economy,  and  morality,  in  those 
younger  days. 

"I  was  like  boys  generally,  not  so  fond  of  work  as  of 
play.  Often  my  father  would  lay  off  my  task  for  the 
day,  that  I  might  gain  time  to  run  wild  among  the 
little  game  and  drown  out  the  striped  squirrel  from 
his  hole. 

"  It  was  on  one  of  these  occasions  that  my  father  left 
me  a  quart  of  beans  to  plant  among  the  growing  corn 
in  a  small  field.  Being  in  a  great  hurry  to  join  a  party 
of  boys,  who  were  going  out  for  sport,  I  planted  all  the 
beans  at  once  in  a  few  hills.  As  I  knew  he  would 
inquire  whether  I  had  planted  them  I  thus  prepared  to 
reply  that  I  had.  When  the  beans  came  up,  and  we 
were  hoeing  the  corn,  we  found  them  starting  from 
the  ground  in  large  masses.  An  explanation  was  de 
manded,  and,  as  usual.  I  frankly  confessed  the  whole 
truth.  He  gave  me  a  wholesome  lecture  on  the  matter, 
and  enforced  it  in  a  manner  more  personal  and  pointed 
than  agreeable,  much  as  Gideon  taught  the  men  of 
Succoth.  [Judges  viii.  16.  —  Editor. ~\ 

"  On  another  occasion  my  father  had  set  me  to  plant 


CAMP.  41 

pumpkin  seeds  among  the  corn.  This  time,  not  wishing 
to  have  my  works  follow  me  so  closely,  I  took  the  seed 
over  the  fence,  and  climbing  a  hollow,  rotten  stump  of  a 
tree  some  ten  feet  high,  I  poured  the  whole  into  it,  and 
left.  My  father  wondered  why  the  seed  did  not  come 
up.  The  mystery  was  explained  one  summer  day, 
when,  passing  the  old  stump,  he  found  it  ornamented 
with  pumpkin  vines,  that  were  hanging  on  all  sides 
from  the  top  in  rich  profusion. 

"  There  was  nothing,  I  think,  malicious  or  wicked  in 
these  boyish  tricks,  yet  I  would  not  justify  them;  but 
at  the  time  they  seemed  necessary  for  my  enjoyment. 
I  was  impetuous,  and  sometimes  resorted  to  rather 
extreme  measures  to  gain  my  end.  One  day,  when  my 
playmates  were  gathered  for  sport,  and  were  waiting 
for  me,  I  found  my  shoes  dried  up  hard  and  stiff,  as 
boys'  shoes  will  sometimes  become,  so  that  I  could  not 
put  them  on.  Deeming  the  case  a  kind  of  military 
necessity,  I  dashed  them  into  my  mother's  dish-water 
to  soften  them.  About  the  same  time  something  like 
a  bomb  exploded  very  near  to  one  of  my  ears,  and  my 
shoes  went  suddenly  out  of  doors  without  any  feet  in 
them. 

"  At  the  age  of  fifteen  I  was  placed  at  the  Worcester 
Academy,  or  High  School,  where  I  remained  for  three 
years.  The  pecuniary  circumstances  of  my  father  did 
not  permit  me  to  draw  any  great  amount  of  funds,  and 
I  often  labored,  as  was  the  case  with  many  New 
England  boys  at  that  time,  to  obtain  means  for  the 
purchase  of  books.  The  first  book  I  ever  bought  was 
the  History  of  the  United  States.  I  purchased  it  of 
Messrs.  Dorr  &  Rowland,  booksellers,  and  paid  for  it 
in  sawing  wood  by  night. 


42  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

"  From  Worcester  I  went  to  live  with  an  uncle  in 
Pomfret,  Conn.,  near  to  Putnam's  wolf  den.  Here  I  re 
mained  a  year  or  more.  My  uncle  was  an  old  fox-hunter, 
kept  his  hounds,  and  at  the  proper  season  of  the  year, 
indulged  freely  in  this  noble  sport.  I  was  a  great/ 
favorite  with  my  uncle,  and  on  these  occasions  I  was 
often  permitted  to  attend  him.  "When  a  chase  was  to 
take  place,  and  a  large  number  of  hounds  was  needed, 
my  cousin  would  take  the  hunter's  horn  —  an  old  goat's 
horn  —  and  give  it  a  few  blasts  at  the  door,  about  day 
light.  The  dogs  of  his  uncle,  a  mile  away,  would  take 
the  call,  and  in  a  few  minutes  they  would  be  heard  on 
the  way,  sending  their  deep  and  prolonged  notes 
among  the  hills,  and  through  the  stillness  of  the  early, 
frosty  morning. 

"  The  chase  often  lasted  all  day,  and  if  the  fox  was 
not  taken,  the  hounds  would  sometimes  follow  up  all 
night,  and  we  renew  the  pursuit  the  next  morning. 
These  were  pleasures  well  suited  to  my  taste,  and  did 
much  towards  strengthening  my  passion  for  a  frontier 
and  hunter  life. 

"  I  spent  one  winter  with  a  distant  relative  in 
Thompson,  Conn.,  and  in  the  spring  went  to  Brim- 
field,  Mass.,  where  another  uncle  resided.  Here  I 
engaged  at  common  labor  on  a  farm  with  a  Mr.  M.  L. 
C.,  at  ten  dollars  a  month.  I  was  then  about  nineteen 
years  of  age.  The  winter  following  I  spent  at  home  in 
study  and  reading,  and  in  the  spring  returned  to  B., 
and  gave  another  season  to  farming  for  Mr.  A.  S. 

"The  associations  formed  during  my  stay  in  this 
beautiful  and  quiet  village  were  of  the  most  genial  and 
happy  character.  There  was  a  large  circle  of  young 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTEKs'    CAMP.  43 

people,  arid  our  amusements  and  enjoyements  made  us 
quite  happy,  and  life  very  sunny.  Those  days  were 
among  the  pleasantest  of  my  early  life.  But  I  was  still 
thinking  of  days  to  come,  and  something  more  than 
having  a  good  time.  I  pressed  on  in  my  studies  on 
every  occasion  that  offered,  and  midnight  often  found 
me  busy  with  my  books  in  my  secluded  chamber.  I 
felt  keenly  the  want  of  such  an  education  as  would 
enable  me  to  live  by  some  employment  less  laborious 
than  farming,  and  my  ambition  prompted  me  to  look 
up,  and  fit  myself  for  the  position  of  an  educated  man. 

"  I  did  not  ask  charitable  aid  to  do  this  thing,  so 
freely  granted  in  that  day ;  but  I  resolutely  determined 
to  make  and  hew  my  own  way,  and  gain  the  prize  by 
my  own  exertions.  Others,  I  knew,  had  done  this  with 
less  advantages.  I  was  full  of  energy,  in  good  health, 
with  an  iron  constitution,  the  world  was  open  to  my 
choice  of  a  path  to  honor,  and  with  industry,  prudence, 
and  good  moral  habits,  I  had  a  strong  faith  to  believe 
I  should  succeed.  This  resolution,  this  fixed  purpose, 
wras  to  me  of  more  value  than  money,  or  a  popular  and 
fashionable  family  name.  It  w^as  a  capital  to  me  that 
was  not  likely  to  vanish  and  leave  me  bankrupt.  I  felt 
that  I  had  the  means,  which  have  made  more  eminent 
men  than  all  others  combined  —  a  determination  to 
become  a  true  man. 

"In  the  fall  of  18271  became  of  age;  and  though  for 
years  I  had  been  thrown  very  much  on  my  own 
resources,  I  felt  a  new  impulse  in  the  fact  that  now  I 
was  alone  in  the  world  — that  new  plans  must  be  formed 
and  greater  exertions  made  for  the  hastening  future. 

"  At  this  time  emigration  had  set  in  strongly  for  the 


44  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

West.  '  The  Genesee  country'  and  Western  New  York 
was  to  many  an  enterprising  mind  '  a  land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey,'  and  glowing  accounts  came  back, 
from  friends  who  had  settled  there,  of  its  beauty  and 
fertility.  My  father  and  my  Brimfield  uncle  had  a 
debt  there  due  them,  from  a  man  residing  near  Otisco 
Lake,  in  Onondaga  county.  I  thought  this  fact  might 
be  made  a  good  occasion  for  my  visiting  what  was  then 
the  Far  West,  while  I  collected  the  debt.  I  wrote  my 
father,  and  he  turned  the  whole  affair  over  to  his 
brother.  By  much  importunity  I  gained  his  consent 
and  the  necessary  funds  for  the  long  journey.  Late  in 
the  fall  of  1827  I  set  forth,  in  the  old  stage-coach,  for 
a  region  never  yet  reached  —  The  West. 

"  Ten  years  afterwards  I  came  nearer  to  reaching  it, 
when  I  crossed  over  the  big  river  here  side  of  us,  and 
walked  over  Black  Hawk's  old  camping-grounds,  with 
the  brands  of  his  war  councils  scarcely  done  smoking. 
General  Scott's  howitzers  and  canister  had  then  but 
recently  scoured  out  the  bottom  lands  and  shores 
around  the  mouths  of  Rock  River,  and  the  old  warrior 
ceded  Iowa  Territory  to  the  United  States,  after  his 
bloody  and  limping  flight  across  the  Mississippi." 

Here  our  sprinkling  of  boys  around  the  camp  fire, 
now  poking  the  brands  and  now  each  other,  but  all  the 
while  catching  every  word  of  The  General,  interposed 
in  the  story  to  hear  more  about  the  Indians.  They 
were  quieted  by  the  assurance  of  the  old  pioneer  set 
tler,  that  they  would  hear  enough  about  Indians  before 
the  stories  were  all  told  and  we  broke  camp.  The 
General  continued :  — 


CAMP.          45 

"  Passing  through  Albany,  I  entered  Utica  on  run 
ners  over  deep  snows,  arrived  in  due  time  at  my  place 
of  destination,  and  for  the  first  time  in  my  life  saw 
log  cabins. 

"  While  here  I  visited  the  Oneida  Indians  at  Onon- 
daga  Hollow,  and  attended -a  council  and  feast  at  their 
council-house.  I  had  never  seen  Indians  before ;  but 
these  were  the  white  man's  Indians,  and  I  shall  not 
stop  to  speak  of  them.  By  and  by,  when  these  boys 
have  done  a  few  more  and  better  days'  works  at  hunt 
ing,  I  shall  get  along  in  my  stories  as  far  west  as  the 
Platte  and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  then  you  shall 
see  Indians,  big  chiefs  and  young  braves,  squaws  and 
pappooses,  and  the  scalp  of  many  a  venturesome  set 
tler  hanging  from  their  wigwain  pole  and  horse's 
inane. 

"  I  also  visited  Syracuse  and  the  Salina  salt  works  — 
small  places  then,  though  the  salt  manufacture  was 
creating  considerable  interest.  Then  I  went  to  Cam- 
den,  in  Oneida  county,  to  visit  some  cousins  who  had 
settled  there.  I  spent  the  most  of  the  winter  with 
them,  enjoying  the  novelties  of  a  new  country,  catch 
ing  trout  through  the  ice,  shooting  the  black  squirrel, 
and  following  up  other  game  on  snow-shoes,  that  often 
gave  me,  at  first,  a  dry  bath  and  a  white  cravat,  as  I 
awkwardly  plunged  into  the  soft  snow. 

"  During  my  stay  here  a  trial  came  off  in  a  little  vil 
lage  twelve  miles  away,  for  the  theft  of  a  bear  caught 
in  a  trap.  The  attorney  for  the  plaintiff  was  a  Camden 
man,  whose  pleasant  acquaintance  I  had  formed,  and 
so  he  invited  me  to  ride  out  with  him  to  attend  the 
court.  On  arriving  I  was  introduced,  for  a  little  quiet 


46  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

humor,  as  a  young  man  of  the  legal  profession,  seeking 
a  place  to  settle.  The  joke  took  a  more  serious  turn 
when  the  defendant  in  the  case,  whom  we  found  to  be 
without  a  lawyer,  asked  me  to  take  his  interests  in 
hand,  and  free  him  from  the  claws  of  the  bear  and  of 
the  law,  that  were  just  now  giving  him  an  uncomfort 
able  hug.  With  a  daring  readiness,  out  among  those 
log  cabin  pioneers,  I  undertook  the  work.  The  bear,  it 
was  alleged,  was  stolen  by  the  defendant  from  the 
plaintiff's  trap,  and  the  prosecution  sought  to  prove  the 
fact  by  producing  the  paw  found  in  the  trap,  and  by 
the  circumstance  that  the  defendant  had  the  carcass  of 
a  bear  about  that  time,  the  acquisition  of  which  he  did 
not  choose  to  give  an  account  of,  and  all  the  paws  of 
which  he  was  not  disposed  to  produce.  With  some 
learned  mention  of  law  books  I  urged  that  all  black 
bears  of  North  America  of  the  same  age  have  feet  very 
much  alike,  and  that  it  belonged  to  the  plaintiff  to 
prove  that  the  paw  in  court,  and  taken  from,  the  trap 
of  the  plaintiff  belonged  to  the  body  of  the  bear  in  the 
cabin  of  the  defendant.  In  this  the  prosecution  foiled, 
and  my  client  was  cleared  by  the  intelligent  jury, 
though  I  had  no  doubt  of  his  guilt.  The  pleadings 
were  somewhat  eloquent  on  both  sides.  I  represented, 
in  the  most  touching  manner  of  the  profession,  the 
monstrous  injustice  of  shutting  up  my  client  in  the 
loathsome  prison,  in  dead  of  winter,  awny  from  his 
almost  distracted  wife  and  hungry,  half-naked  little 
ones,  the  cruelty  of  blasting  his  unsullied  reputation 
in  the  bloom  of  his  manhood,  and  all  on  the  unproved 
supposition  that  he  had  taken  a  bear  from  his  neighbor's 
trap.  The  fact  was,  he  had  daringly  hunted  down  and 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.  47 

captured  another  animal  to  appease  the  gnawings  of 
hunger  in  his  lonely  cabin  in  the  wilderness.  The 
prisoner  was  discharged  amid  much  out-door  applause. 
Owing  to  the  stringency  in  the  money  market  I  got  no 
fees.  I,  however,  took  the  paw,  and  carried  it  home 
with  me  to  New  England,  the  trophy  of  my  first 
attempt  to  plead  law. 

"  Here  was  my  first  experience  in  a  free  and  easy 
backwoods  gathering.  "Whiskey  flowed  abundantly, 
while  target  shooting  for  beef,  pork,  poultry,  and  other 
valuables  was  the  pastime.  The  defendant  was  the 
lion  of  the  day,  after  his  acquittal,  and  the  young 
attorney  from  the  East  was  urged  strongly  to  'hang  out 
his  shingle,'  as  the  Western  phrase  is. 

"  I  received  for  the  debt  spoken  of  a  horse  in  part 
payment,  and  making  what  was  there  called  a  'jumper,' 
an  extemporaneous  sleigh,  I  started  for  home.  Just  as 
the  snows  of  March  were  melting  away  on  the  rough 
hills  of  Worcester  county  I  drove  up  at  the  old  home 
stead.  At  that  day  a  journey  like  this  was  regarded  as 
quite  an  undertaking,  even  for  experienced  travellers. 
It  was  an  important  as  well  as  interesting  one  for  me.  I 
improved  it  well,  making  many  observations  on  frontier 
life,  and  keeping  a  journal  of  facts  and  incidents." 

The  youngsters  wanted  more  bears'  paws,  snow-shoes, 
and  jumpers,  and  the  older  hunters  around  the  fire 
evidently  wanted  to  see  The  General  farther  from 
home,  and  on  the  prairies,  before  they  slept.  But  all 
things  have  an  end,  even  good  stories  in  the  hunters' 
camp.  Night  had  long  since  thrown  her  starry  blanket 
over  the  sleeping  lake ;  the  owl  in  the  deeper  wood  had 


48  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

repeatedly  challenged  us  with  his  "  Who,  who :  who, 
who  ? "  as  one  of  the  night  picket  stationed  at  the 
head  of  Sturgeon  Bay ;  and  Rube,  in  his  gathering  of 
wood,  found  the  fires  as  insatiable  as  Dock  found  our 
stomachs. 

So  one  by  one  the  candles  glimmered  in  our  tents ; 
their  fronts,  thrown  open  during  the  day,  dropped  loose 
ly  together ;  robes  and  shawls  were  stretched  and  tucked 
in  here  and  there ;  the  lights  disappeared ;  the  voices 
died  slowly  away,  the  rollicking  boys  being  the  last  to 
give  up ;  and  at  length  silence  and  sleep  reigned  over 
the  encampment. 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.  49 


THIRD  NIGHT. 

OLD  Hugh  Latimer  was  right  in  that  sermon. 
He  preached  it  before  the  Sixth  Edward,  a  lad 
of  twelve  years,  and  a  king  of  two,  on  the  12th  of 
April,  1549.  Had  the  king  obeyed  the  -preaching,  as 
hearers  should  when  they  hear  so  good  a  man  as  Mas 
ter  Latimer,  I  doubt  whether  he  would  have  died  of 
consumption  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen.  Many  a 
youth  has  died  of  consumption  for  not  reading  and 
practising  that  sermon.  It  is  now  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century  since  I  first  read  it.  I  practised  the  doctrine 
many  years  before,  and  more  devoutly  since  he  im 
pressed  it  on  me,  and  that  he  was  sound  in  the  faith 
in  that  sermon  I  have  this  evidence  :  For  twenty-three 
years  I  have  followed  Latimer's  instructions,  as  given 
before  the  young  king,  and  have  lost  by  sickness  only 
two  days  of  pulpit  labor.  This  is  his  sound  doctrine, 
and  of  the  old  martyr  school  of  divines :  — 

"Men  of  England,  in  times  past,  when  they  would 

exercise  themselues   (for  wee  must  needs  have   some 

recreation ;   our   bodies    cannot   endure  without  some 

exercise),  they  were  wont  to  goe  abroad  into  the  fieldes 

i.  shooting.  .  .  .  The  game  of  shooting   hath   bin   in 

imes  past  much  esteemed  in  this  Realme.     It  is  a  gift 

hat   God  hath  giuen  us  to  excell  all  other  Nations 

al.  .  .  .  A  wondrous   thing,  that  so   excellent   a 

4 


50  THE    GENERAL,    OK 

gift  of  God  should  be  so  little  esteemed.  I  desire  you, 
my  Lordes,  euen  as  yee  loue  the  honour  and  glory  of 
God,  and  intend  to  remoue  his  indignation,  let  there 
be  sent  forth  some  proclamation,  some  sharpe  procla- 
'mation  to  the  lustices  of  peace,  that  they  may  doe  their 
dutie.  For  lustices  now  be  no  lustices.  There  be 
many  good  acts  made  for  this  matter  alreadie.  Charge 
them  upon  their  allegiance  that  this  singular  benefite 
of  God  maybe  better  practised,  .  .  .  for  they  be  negli 
gent  in  executing  these  lawes  of  shooting.  In  my  time, 
my  poore  father  was  as  diligent  to  teach  mee  to  shoote, 
as  to  learne  me  any  other  thing.  ...  I  had  my  bowes 
bought  mee,  according  to  my  age  and  strength,  as  I 
encreased  in  them ;  so  my  bowes  were  made  bigger  and 
bigger;  for  men  shall  never  shoote  well  except  they  be 
brought  up  in  it.  It  is  a  worthy  game,  a  wholesome 
kinde  of  exercise,  and  much  commended  in  Phisicke. 
...  In  the  reuerence  of  God  let  it  be  continued." 

That  is  practical  preaching,  and  I  should  think  it 
might  be  popular  with  many.  More  tents  and  less  hotels 
in  vacation  would  make  our  professional  men  more  vig 
orous  ;  Moosehead  and  the  Adirondacks  are  better  re 
cuperators  than  Saratoga,  Cape  May,  and  the  Rhine; 
and  fishing-rods  and  fowling-pieces  arc  among  the  very 
best  gymnastic  apparatus  for  a  college  ;  but  they  should 
be  good  time-keepers,  and  observers  of  good  laws,  and 
not  allow  a  literary  exercise  to  give  way  to  a  rural  excur 
sion.  When  I  swam  a  river  seven  times  one  college 
half-holiday,  for  the  sake  of  better  fishing  on  the  oppo 
site  shore,  and  not  unfrequently  cooked  my  own  par 
tridge,  or  trout,  or  squirrel  on  Pelham  Hills  for  a  lunch, 
I  was  enjoying  "a  wholesome  kinde  of  exercise,  and 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS7    CAMP.          51 

much  commended  in  Phisicke."  Losing  since  that  time 
little  sleep  by  night,  or  work  by  day,  from  sickness,  and 
no  four  meals  in  succession,  I  incline,  from  experience, 
to  a  college  gymnasium  that  embraces  the  most  of 
four  townships,  a  wild,  hilly  range  or  two,  some  mead 
ows,  a  river,  and  several  brooks.  The  founder  of  the 
celebrated  Harrow  School,  John  Lyon,  had  a  good  idea 
of  a  gymnasium  for  boys.  In  his  third  rule  for  that 
foundation,  referring  to  parents,  he  says,  "You  shall 
allow  your  child  at  all  times  bow,  shafts,  bow-strings, 
and  bracer,  to  exercise  shooting."  And  that  eminent 
worthy,  who  wrote  Holy  Living  and  Dying,  and  en 
acted  it  too,  the  devout  and  scholarly  Jeremy  Taylor, 
helps  me  to  this  view  thus:  "Nature's  commons  and 
open  fields,  the  shores  of  rivers,  and  the  strand  of  the 
sea,  the  unconfined  air,  and  the  wilderness  that  hath 
no  hedge,  ...  in  these  every  man  may  hunt,  and 
fowl,  and  fish  respectively." 

But  I  forget  myself  in  my  preaching  and  moralizing. 
My  last  chapter  left  us  all  sleeping  soundly  in  the 
encampment  at  Swan  Lake.  The  reader  may  think 
me  talking  of  these  old  authors  in  my  sleep.  Very 
like.  I  have  often  hunted  and  fished  with  great  suc 
cess  in  Dreamland.  The  forests,  rivers,  and  game  there 
are  splendid. 

Let  the  reader  suppose,  then,  that  we  arose  in  due 
time,  ate  a  vast  breakfast,  had  the  usual  success  in  our 
diverging  and  miscellaneous  hunt,  helped  Dock  most 
efficiently  in  clearing  the  supper  table,  and  are  now  on 
the  logs,  robes,  and  camp-stools  around  The  General, 
just  where  you  left  us  a  little  less  than  twenty-four 
hours  ago.  The  audience  are  all  in,  with  not  one 


52  THE    GENERAL,    Oil 

straggler,  and  the  sexton,  old  Nox,  has  closed  the  doors 
of  day  on  us.  Our  dogs  give  us  some  trouble  as 
The  General  is  about  to  begin  his  Third  Story.  Two 
of  them,  Shot  and  Grouse,  have  drawn  rations  after 
dusk,  from  tent  number  eight,  commissariat's  headquar 
ters,  without  the  lawful  amount  of  Rube's  red  tape. 
As  the  two  come  within  the  camp  circle  to  eat  among 
gentlemen  of  the  same  profession,  the  others  file  claims 
for  dividends  on  the  draft,  and  so  our  meeting  is 
disturbed.  Having  been  all  whipped  out  of4  camp, 
the  chaplain  proposed  the  following,  as  a  by-law  for  our 
evening  meetings,  copied,  he  said,  from  the  records  of 
his  old  Reading  parish,  under  date  of  1662 :  "  Every 
dog  that  comes  to  the  meeting,  after  this  present  day, 
or  on  lecture  days,  except  it  be  their  dogs  that  pay  for 
a  dog-whipper,  the  owners  of  those  dogs  shall  pay  six 
pence  for  every  such  offence."  The  Pilgrim  by-law  of 
two  centuries  and  a  year  old  being  accepted  by  accla 
mation,  The  General  took  up  the  thread  of  his  narra 
tive  thus : — 


TWELVE  NIGHTS  IN  THE  HUNTERS*  CAMP.       53 

IN  THE  WILDERNESS. 

"  In  the  month  of  November,  1828,  I  left  the  quiet 
village  of  Brimfield  to  seek  my  fortune  somewhere 
away,  I  hardly  guessed  where.  It  was  a  day  of  sadness 
to  me  when  I  left.  I  had  long  enjoyed  the  society  of 
esteemed  friends  there,  whom  I  loved,  and  who,  I 
think,  loved  me.  In  the  circle  in  which  I  moved,  I 
think  I  may  say,  few  had  warmer  friends.  I  had  never 
known  care  and  responsibility,  and  my  even,  lively 
nature  had  kept  me  happy.  Fond  of  society,  jovial  in 
my  disposition,  the  evening  circle  that  I  entered  was 
sure  to  have  some  animation.  Others  felt  the  separa 
tion,  but  I  more ;  for  I  was  launching  my  bark  on  the 
sea  of  life  without  a  guide  or  friendly  adviser.  But  I 
was  full  of  hope,  self-reliant,  and  fully  determined,  not 
only  to  better  my  condition,  but  to  attain  to  a  higher 
intellectual  and  moral  standard,  and  more  marked  em 
ployment  in  life. 

"With  a  small  hand-trunk,  containing  all  my  effects, 
and  with  a  few  dollars  in  money,  I  bade  adieu  to  my 
friends,  and,  taking  the  stage,  went  to  Hartford,  and 
thence  to  New  Haven,  where  I  spent  a  few  days  in 
visiting  an  old  schoolmate.  Then  I  took  passage  on 
the  first  steamer  I  ever  saw,  for  New  York.  The  pas 
sage  was  delightful,  and  my  happiness  was  marred  only 
as  the  thoughts  of  home  and  the  separation  from  friends 
came  over  me,  and  I  felt  that  each  hour  hastened  me 
from  them,  and  into  a  land  of  strangers.  I  visited 


54  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

some  of  the  more  prominent  objects  of  interest  in  New 
York,  taking  a  few  days  for  it,  and  then  went  on  to 
Elizabethtown,  N".  J.  At  the  hotel  I  noticed  an  adver 
tisement  for  a  school  teacher,  in  a  district  three  miles 
out.  Procuring  a  horse,  I  went  out  to  the  place, 
engaged  with  the  trustees  to  teach  the  school,  and 
entered  at  once  on  the  work. 

"This  calling  soon  introduced  me  to  good  society,  and 
I  was  not  long  in  finding  that  my  location  was  among 
a  people  well  noted  for  their  hospitality  and  courtesy 
to  strangers,  and  for  their  sterling  integrity  and  moral 
and  Christian  worth.  The  most  of  them  lived  on  lands 
inherited  from  their  ancestors,  many  of  whom  were 
those  old  patriots  who,  in  the  Revolution,  were  first  on 
the  battle-fields  of  New  Jersey. 

"  Here  again  I  renewed  my  studies  with  double  en 
ergy,  and  commenced  others  of  a  higher  order,  reciting 
in  Latin,  and  geometry,  and  trigonometry  to  a  private 
teacher,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Burroughs,  who  died  a  few  years 
afterwards. 

"The  four  years  I  spent  here,  in  constant  employ 
ment  as  a  teacher,  were  eventful  as  well  as  very  happy 
ones  in  my  life.  No  one  who  has  visited  Elizabethtown 
and  its  vicinity  can  be  ignorant  of  its  unsurpassed  beau 
ty  and  loveliness,  specially  in  the  spring  and  summer. 
Here  I  mastered  civil  engineering  and  surveying,  a 
profession  I  had  chosen  as  adapted  to  favor  the  grow 
ing  purpose  of  my  heart  —  a  settlement  in  the  West. 

"  The  society  was  of  a  solid,  genial,  intelligent  char 
acter,  and  so  made  my  residence  in  it  both  pleasant 
and  profitable  to  me.  During  the  first  winter  of  my 
labors  here,  I  boarded  in  one  of  those  antiquated 


TWELVE    NIGHTS   IX   THE    HUNTERS*   CAMP.          55 

cottage  houses,  where  the  stairs  to  the  chamber  com 
mence  in  the  room  below,  and  have  one  step  before  the 
door  opens  into  the  stairway.  This  convenient  step 
was  often  used  as  a  kind  of  shelf  for  sundry  articles. 
On  one  occasion  the  boys  had  set  a  half-bushel  meas 
ure  on  this  step,  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening.  In  de 
scending  the  stairs,  I  stepped  into  it,  and  sliding  off, 
fell  at  full  length  on  the  floor.  On  rising,  I  was  intro 
duced  to"  a  young  lady,  a  cousin  of  the  family,  who  had 
incidentally  called  in.  Four  years  afterwards,  that 
young  lady  became  my  wife,  and  has  shared  with  me 
the  pleasures  and  privations  of  life  .for  more  than  thirty 
years.  And  though  I  was  thus  measured  out  to  her  at 
first,  she  has  never  had  reason  to  complain  of  scanty 
weight  or  bulk." 

Of  course  the  camp  had  a  laugh.  It  was  useless  to 
try  to  do  otherwise.  That  the  portly  dimensions  of 
The  General,  now  quite  an  alderman  in  figure,  should 
ever  have  attempted  to  occupy  a  half-bushel,  was  too 
ludicrous  a  thought,  while  the  boys  enlarged  on  his  first 
captivating  approaches  to  the  young  lady.  The  pause 
in  the  narration  was  used  also  to  renew  the  fires,  and 
while  Dock  and  Rube,  who  were  picking  ducks,  drew 
modestly  nearer  to  join  in  the  story  and  the  laugh 
ing,  The  General  proceeded  :  — 

"  In  the  autumn  of  1832  I  was  married,  and  removed 
to  a  small  village  in  Sussex  county,  N.  J.,  where  I 
spent  two  years  as  the  principal  of  an  academy.  Then 
I  returned  to  Elizabethtown.  The  spring  of  1835  I 
spent  in  Norfolk,  Va.,  in  teaching.  In  the  fall  of  the 
4 


56  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

same  year  I  sailed  for  New  Orleans,  with  a  view  of  en 
tering  into  some  business  there ;  but  the  yellow  fever 
prevailed  to  an  alarming  extent,  though  it  was  as  late 
as  the  20th  of  October,  and  so  I  went  up  to  Natchez, 
where  I  engaged  for  a  time  in  teaching  fancy  painting 
(an  art  I  had  acquired  while  a  teacher)  to  classes  of 
young  ladies  and  in  seminaries.  In  this  I  was  quite 
successful ;  but  an  opportunity  offered  where  I  could 
enter  the  business  of  land  surveyor  for  the  general 
government,  and  at  the  same  time  gratify  my  desires 
for  wild  life  adventures  and  exploration. 

"Cotton  lands  in  the  States  of  Mississippi  and  Louisi 
ana,  in  fact  throughout  the  whole  South,  had  become 
valuable.  Cotton  was  high,  negroes  commanded  large 
prices,  and  speculation  in  the  staples  of  that  region  was 
almost  wild.  As  a  consequence,  the  unsettled  portions- 
of  those  states  were  being  explored  for  cotton  lands, 
and  plantations  were  fast  opening  wherever  suitable 
soil  could  be  found.  I  eagerly  accepted  proposals  from 
the  surveyor-general  of  that  land  district  to  explore 
and  survey  these  new  lands,  and  so  prepare  them  for 
market,  specially  as  such  employment  would  gratify 
some  of  my  ruling  passions  for  frontier  life. 

"Having  purchased  a  horse,  compass,  and  other  out 
fit,  I  set  forth,  about  the  first  of  January,  1836,  going  up 
the  Yazoo  River  into  the  Pontotoc  land  district.  At 
Chockchuma,  on  the  Yallobusha  River,  in  the  Choctaw 
Purchase,  as  it  was  called,  I  obtained  my  maps,  notes, 
and  instructions  from  the  land  office  there.  Pene 
trating  from  Chockchuma  far  into  the  interior,  I  entered 
on  my  work  in  the  depths  of  the  dense  forest,  amid 
lakes  and  bayous,  canebrakes  and  cypress  swamps.  In 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS7 

this  exploring  tour  for  selecting  lands,  I  had  but  a 
single  attendant,  and  camped  beside  the  fallen  log,  or 
with  the  Mississippi  raft  man*  The  rivermen,  runaway 
negroes,  and  fugitives  from  justice  were  then  the  only 
inhabitants  of  this  wild  country.  It  was  in  this  deso 
late  region  that  the  notorious  Morrill  gang  of  despera 
does  made  their  rendezvous,  the  dread  and  terror  of 
the  South,  whose  plot  for  a  negro  insurrection  in 
the  winter  of  1835-6,  at  Natchez  and  vicinity,  was 
discovered  just  in  time  to  prevent  a  most  horrible 
massacre. 

"While  on  this  expedition,  I  visited  the  old  Eliot 
missionary  station,  on  the  Yallobusha  River,  planted 
there  in  1818,  among  the  Choctaw  Indians.  The  mis 
sion  had  been  abandoned,  and  the  grounds  turned  into 
a  cotton  plantation.  It  was  a  beautiful  location,  on 
high  and  rolling  lands,  cleared  from  the  native  forests 
by  the  missionaries.  The  buildings -were  of  logs,  spa 
cious,  and  had  an  air  of  neatness  and  comfort.  In  front 
of  the  mansion  was  a  lawn,  on  which  tame  deer  were 
feeding.  A  few  scattered  fruit  trees  remained,  memen 
toes  from  the  hands  of  those  who,  years  before,  had 
planted  them  in  Indian  soil,  and  had  now  gone  to  a 
brighter  and  better  land. 

"  The  whole  scene,  to  a  reflecting  mind,  was  full  of 
sadness.  The  remembrance  of  the  labors  and  trials  of 
those  who,  long  years  ago,  had  penetrated  this  dark 
wilderness  to  carry  the  news  of  salvation  to  the  be 
nighted  Indian,  and  of  those,  too,  who  had  gone  home 
to  their  reward,  flitted  before  my  mind,  as  I  wan 
dered  over  the  once  consecrated  grounds,  and  sought 
the  places  made  sacred  in  teaching  the  sons  of  the 


58  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

forest  the  way  to  eternal  life.  I  roamed  over  the 
fields,  and  traversed  the  old  log  buildings  where  the 
schools  were  kept,  and  the  morning  and  evening  prayer 
went  up  to  the  missionary's  God,  to  endure  unto  good 
fruit  and  the  end. 

"I  blushed  for  our  national  government,  when  I  con 
sidered  how  it  unrighteously  broke  up  all  these  good 
beginnings  among  the  Choctaws.  By  treaty,  these 
lands  were  reserved  to  this  tribe  forever,  and  the  gov 
ernment  favored  and  aided  Christian  missions  here. 
The  Indians  opened  good  farms,  and  introduced  all  the 
simpler  arts  of  civilization,  and  many  of  them  had  be 
come  wealthy.  But  Mississippi  slaveholders  wanted  the 
lands  for  cotton,  and  so  the  treaty  with  the  Choctaws 
was  faithlessly  broken,  a  sham  treaty  of  sale  was  formed 
with  a  few  of  the  tribe,  and  the  State  of  Mississippi 
assumed  jurisdiction  over  the  Indian  territory,  the 
great  body  of  the  Indians  objecting  to  the  whole  thing. 
A  forced  sale  brought  them  but  a  trifle  for  their  homes 
and  improvements,  and  they  were  forcibly  removed  to 
the  west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  in  the  years  1831.  '2, 
and  '3.  Their  number  was  about  fifteen  thousand.  The 
expenditure  on  these  mission  premises  had  been  about 
sixty  thousand  dollars  by  the  Board  of  Missions ;  but, 
under  government  appraisal  and  by  sale,  it  returned  to 
the  Board  less  than  five  thousand. 

"I  remained  over  night  in  the  neighborhood,  at  a 
little  village  near  by,  that  had  just  begun  its  existence. 
Learning  that  one  of  the  missionaries,  Father  Smith, 
still  lived  in  the  vicinty,  I  called  on  him  at  an  early 
hour  the  next  morning.  It  was  one  of  those  clear, 
beautiful  mornings  of  a  southern  winter.  The  sun 


began  to  shine  through  the  thick  forest.  As  I  reached 
the  door  of  his  rude  cabin,  I  heard  the  voice  of  prayer. 
The  pioneer  Christian  was  praising  God,  in  the  stillness 
of  the  morning,  that  he  had  brought  him  through  so 
many  trials  and  dangers,  and  that  he  still  '  dwelt  under 
the  shadow  of  his  wing.' 

"  When  the  service  was  ended  I  entered  and  intro 
duced  myself.  Mr.  Smith  had  lost  his  first  wife  in  the 
early  part  of  his  settlement  there,  and  had  married  an 
other  from  the  tribe  among  whom  he  lived.  A  large  fam 
ily  of  children  surrounded  him,  the  most  of  whom  could 
speak  English  with  fluency.  They  were  sprightly,  and 
some  of  them  quite  handsome.  The  venerable  patri 
arch,  with  clear  recollections  of  the  days  of  darkness 
and  distress,  related  to  me  his  trials  and  difficulties  on 
their  journey  into  the  wilderness,  and  the  misgivings 
and  fears  of  their  first  settlement. 

"  They  left  the  Mississippi  River  in  flat-boats,  and, 
in  the  heat  of  summer,  ascended  the  Yazoo  and  its 
tributaries,  into  the  unknown  country.  The  men  la 
bored  at  the  oars,  and  the  women  steered  the  boats. 
Sickness  prevailed  among  them.  One  of  their  children 
died  by  the  way,  and  they  buried  him  in  the  deep,  lone 
forest,  and  passed  on  to  their  labors  of  love  and  sacri 
fice.  '  But,'  said  the  good  old  man  —  and  the  tears  rolled 
down  his  furrowed  cheeks  — '  I  have  never  regretted 
my  coming  here.  My  wicked  heart  murmurs  some 
times,  but  God  sends  comforts  and  blessings  to  us,  as 
his  missionaries,  more  than  we  deserve.' 

"From  Mr.  Smith  I  learned  much  about  the  country, 
and  particularly  of  the  unexplored  parts,  a  knowledge. 
of  which  lie  had  gained  from  the  Indians.  He  also 


60  THE    GEXEKAL,    OE 

told  me  much  of  the  bandit  Merrill,  and  his  gang,  who 
had  spread  terror  through  that  country. 

"I  travelled  over  the  Black  River  country,  which 
was  at  that  time  just  beginning  to  be  settled.  In  the 
early  spring  the  river  overflowed  its  banks,  and  the 
bridge  on  which  I  had  crossed  it  was  swept  away. 
Not  aware  of  the  danger  of  the  undertaking,  I  at 
tempted  to  swim  it  with  my  horse,  as  it  was  near  night 
fall,  and  the  last  house  passed  was  some  distance  back. 
When  about  half  way  over,  some  drift  struck  the  horse, 
throwing  me  off,  and  so  entangling  him  as  to  carry 
him  down  stream.  Being  a  good  swimmer,  I  freed  the 
horse,  and  then  seizing  him  by  the  tail,  we  landed  on 
the  same  bank  from  which  we  started.  Returning  to 
the  house,  far  behind,  I  remained  there  several  days, 
till  the  river  fell.  I  then  returned  to  Natchez,  made 
my  report  to  the  surveyor  general,  and  in  May  arrived 
in  New  Jersey,  well  stored  with  observations  and  re 
flections  on  my  first  visit  to  the  South,  its  people,  soil, 
productions,  and  peculiar  institutions." 

And  so,  well  housed,  in  the  narrative,  with  his  fami 
ly,  amid  all  the  comforts  of  an  old.  civilization,  The 
General  closed  for  the  night.  Better  and  better,  the 
boys  thought,  as  there  were  fewer  houses,  more  Indians, 
and  wild  adventures  in  the  forests.  Still  they  begged 
for  longer  stories,  and  more  bears  thrown  in  ;  and  they 
paddled  up  and  down  the  Yazoo  and  Black  River  a 
long  time,  after  their  candle  went  out,  before  they  tied 
up  for  the  night  in  Sleepy  Hollow  Cove. 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.          61 


FOURTH  NIGHT. 


"  TTUNTING  and  fishing!  What  a  recreation  for 
E  1  civilized  folks,  men  of  business,  professional 
men,  and  Christian  ministers!  "  And  then  tender  Miss 
Araminta  exclaims  again,  "  How  cruel  to  torture  the 
innocent  fishes,  and  shoot  the  beautiful  water  fowl  and 
timid  deer  !  How  can  any  one  bear  to  kill  anything 
for  his  own  enjoyment  !  "  And  her  silks  rustle  with  a 
holy  horror  at  the  thought.  Yes,  maiden  of  the  tender 
heart,  but  how  many  silk-worms  were  scalded  to  death 
that  you  "  might  have  one  dress  fit  to  put  on  "  ?  How 
many  Andersons,  and  Spekes,  and  Livingstones  almost, 
and  poor  Africans,  lost  their  lives,  as  well  as  the 
frightened  ostrich  hers,  that  you  might  properly  toss 
your  head  with  its  least  bit  of  a  hat  and  a  splendid 
plume  on  it  ?  Pitying  the  deer,  is  it  ?  Sorry  for  poor 
dumb  creatures,  are  you  ?  See  those  sweating,  jaded, 
and  dying  horses,  toiling  up  the  White  Mountains  with 
ladies'  trunks  too  big  to  have  gone  into  the  ark  through 
the  door  in  the  Primer  picture. 

I  fear  Miss  Araminta  would  not  have  enjoyed,  as  a 
neighbor,  Bernabo  Visconti,  whose  tomb  and  equestrian 
statue  may  be  seen  at  Milan.  He  kept  five  thousand 
hounds,  quartered  on  his  more  wealthy  subjects,  and 
any  dog  became  too  fat  or  too  lean  at  the  peril  of  his 
keeper.  What  a  glorious  orchestra,  to  have  them  all 


62  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

open  at  once  on  a  slope  of  the  Adirondacks,  under  "  a 
southerly  wind  and  a  cloudy  sky,"  in  an  October  morn 
ing!  The  famed  and  unfortunate  hunt  of  Fitz  James 
around  Loch  Katrine  and  the  steeps  of  Bcnlcdi  and 
Uam  Var  would  be  nothing  to  it.  Tender  Miss 
Araminta  must  go  out  with  us  some  morning.  She 
needs  reconstructing.  I  fear  me  much  she  would  now 
be  unwilling,  the  soft  heart,  to  take  the  piece  of  money 
from  the  mouth  of  St.  Peter's  fish. 

Another  cup,  Dock,  of  that  dark-brown  Mocha. 
Now  a  hot  biscuit.  They  cool  off  very  quickly  in  this 
airy  tent.  One  more  partridge,  rare  and  smoking. 
Now  for  a  wide  range,  a  long  day,  and  a  heavy  pack, 
into  camp  again,  not  forgetting  some  rare  duck's 
plumage  for  Miss  Araminta's  love  of  a  bonnet. 

As  I  struck  out  to-day,  wilder  than  usual,  three,  four, 
seven  miles,  over  low  prairie,  through  heavy  timber, 
across  marshes  and  around  lagoons,  I  felt  for  a  time 
very  happy  without  knowing  why.  At  length  the 
thought  from  my  deeper  consciousness  came  to  the 
surface,  that  this  hunting  ground  never  can  be  settled. 
Men  cannot  live  here  through  the  year.  The  annual 
overflow  will  make  it  impossible.  Then  it  is  reserved 
by  a  statute  of  nature  for  a  hunting  and  fishing  ground 
forever!  What  a  kind  and  wise  provision  of  prov 
idence  ! 

It  was  intended  men  should  hunt  and  fish,  and  in  the 
final  reconstruction  of  the  world  for  man,  just  before 
the  days  of  Adam  and  Nimrod,  large  tracts  were  left  in 
a  state  impossible  forever  for  human  occupation.  The 
vast  belt  of  bottom  lands  skirting  the  Mississippi  —  and 
that  the  swelling  river  can  cover  when  it  will  —  keeps 


TWELVE    EIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.          68 

men  from  encroaching  on  the  domain  of  wild  animal 
life.  The  vast  bayous  around  its  mouth  and  in  the 
Gulf  States,  and  its  shores  to  its  very  sources,  divide 
the  country  between  men  and  wild  fowl  and  beasts. 
So  the  Kankakee  bottoms  are  providential  game  pre 
serves  for  Swan  Lake  settlers.  Foolishly  put  in  market 
at  ten  cents  an  acre,  their  annual  flooding  laughs  at 
the  Land  Office  at  Washington  and  the  stock  board  at 
Chicago.  The  Winnebago  Marsh,  in  Wisconsin  —  a 
tract  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  long,  with  half  as  much 
breadth  —  was  preempted  by  the  Webfoots  before  the 
days  of  Columbus,  and  will  remain,  by  statute  of  Nature, 
under  their  squatter  sovereignty  till  the  last  gun  is 
fired. 

It  is  not  designed  that  the  first  settlers  in  a  country 
shall  have  the  best  time  and  exhaust  the  supplies ; 
some  of  the  sporting  is  reserved.  So  large  portions  of 
British  America  will  remain  as  it  is,  all  through  the 
millennium,  a  region  for  summer  excursionists  with 
gun,  angle,  and  camp,  and  the  white  bear  can  be 
hunted  around  the  north  pole,  till  that  distinguished 
axle  is  worn  out.  The  price  of  Alaska  is  cheap  as  an 
addition  to  our  national  hunting-park,  anticipating  the 
time  when  settlements  and  improvements,  so  called, 
shall  have  ruined  the  rest  of  our  habitable  domain. 
There  are  portions  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  that 
nothing  but  wild  animals  can  occupy  for  any  twelve 
month  continuous,  and  streams  that  no  steamer  can 
vex,  or  water-wheel  use,  and  pay  dividends.  This  is  as 
providential  as  the  grain-fields  of  Iowa  or  the  Nile. 
So  has  Nature  set  up  bars  to  irrepressible  progress  and 
settlement  and  corner  lots,  that  the  goodly  art  of  the 


64  THE    GENERAL,    OK 

angle  and  the  wholesome  exercise  of  the  chase  may  not 
be  driven  from  the  earth. 

Possibly  William  the  Conqueror  carried  the  thing 
too  far  in  destroying  villages  and  towns  to  make  forests 
for  deer.  When  he  had  sixty-eight  royal  forests,  he 
laid  waste  an  immense  tract  in  Hampshire  to  form 
another,  called  The  New  Forest,  and  the  curses  of  the 
peasantry  there  came  on  him  for  it.  And  when  his  son 
Richard  was  gored  to  death  in  it  by  a  stag,  they  called 
it  the  judgment  of  Heaven  on  him  for  so  making  that 
Forest.  But,  then,  improvements,  and  progress,  and 
settlements  should  not  have  been  allowed  to  monopo 
lize  all  the  game  regions  of  Merrie  England.  The 
English  mistakes  should  be  a  warning  to  us  in  our  new 
and  splendid  wilderness  country. 

I  confess  to  an  inward  satisfaction  when  I  hear  that  the 
population  is  falling  off  in  some  rural  towns,  and  that 
others  are  too  far  from  the  track  of  the  nineteenth 
century  to  be  annoyed  by  the  sound  of  the  railroad. 
I  own  to  some  sympathy  with  Bryant's  Indian  at  the 
burial-place  of  his  fathers,  now  covered  with  the  white 
man's  thrift :  — 

"  I  like  it  not;  I  would  the  plain 
Lay  in  its  tall  old  groves  again." 

Yes,  a  portion  of  this  world  was  set  apart,  primitively 
and  organically,  for  hunting  and  fishing.  Why,  even 
the  Holy  Land  had  these  reservations  and  human  coin- 
forts.  It  had  lakes  and  streams  stocked  with  fish,  and 
good  fishermen  were  the  very  best  of  apostles,  while  its 
hill-sides,  and  ravines,  and  the  great  plain  of  Esdraelon, 
abounded  in  animals  for  the  chase.  There  were  the 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS*    CAMP.  65 

bear  and  panther,  jackals  and  foxes,  hyenas  and  wolves, 
the  badger  and  lion,  squirrels  and  hares,  the  wild  goat, 
antelope,  and  fallow  deer,  and,  in  the  best  days  of  the 
Jewish  commonwealth,  the  buffalo,  or  wild  ox.  This 
was  the  "goodly  land,"  when  promised,  and  in  the 
earlier  glories  of  the  kingdom  prophets  and  good  men 
could  chase  "  the  wild  gazelle  on  Judah's  hills,"  or  hunt 
the  bulls  of  Bashan  on  the  far  side  of  the  Dead  Sea. 
David  had  good  training  in  the  chase  for  the  army  and 
the  crown.  "  Thy  servant  slew  both  the  lion  and  the 
bear,"  he  says  to  Saul,  pleadingly,  when  longing  to 
meet  him  of  Gath,  who  had  defied  the  armies  of  Israel. 
Surely  if  David,  the  general  and  king,  prophet,  psalmist, 
and  good  man,  could  go  on  a  bear  hunt,  "  thy  servant " 
might  shoot  wild  geese  at  Swan  Lake. 

It  is  one  of  the  discomforts  now,  in  seeking  a  quiet 
little  nook  for  summer  rest,  to  find  somebody  there. 
"O  for  a  lodge  in  some  vast  wilderness,"  where  nobody 
could  find  a  body  !  This  has  often  been  my  wish,  as  it 
was  of  Walter  Scott.  "  There  is  nothing  I  should  like 
more,"  he  once  said  to  Irving,  "  than  to  be  in  the  midst 
of  one  of  your  grand,  wild,  original  forests,  with  the 
idea  of  hundreds  of  miles  of  unknown  forest  around 
me."  I  never  have  been  able  to  find  that  lodge  yet, 
though  I  have  tried.  Here  at  Swan  Lake,  we  are  dis 
turbed  by  the  deep,  gruff,  asthmatic  cough  of  steamers 
two  miles  away. 

Once  three  of  us  had  depended  on  a  little  quiet  on 
the  head-waters  of  the  Androscoggin,  twenty-five  miles 
comfortably  from  everybody ;  but  two  men  broke  our 
slumbers  one  night  at  ten  o'clock.  Again,  thirty  good 
miles  from  any  house,  on  the  Union  River,  in  Maine, 
5 


66  THE    GENERAL,    OB 

an  old  college  mate  and  myself  were  just  dishing  up, 
in  the  light  of  a  camp  fire,  a  venison  ste\v,  that  at 
Parker's  would  cost  a  dollar  a  plate,  with  the  amount 
of  waiter  there  paid  for,  when  two  men  walked  in 
among  our  shadows  and  savory  odors.  We  served 
them,  of  course,  bountifully,  and  they  paid  us  in  pioneer 
stories,  though  it  took  us  till  midnight  to  settle  the 
bill.  One  is  obliged  now  to  go  a  long  and  tedious  way 
to  be  sure  of  meeting  a  deer  or  moose,  or  bear  or  wolfl 
The  older  parts  of  the  country  are  nearly  ruined,  and 
the  next  generation  would  have  poor  prospects,  but  for 
these  natural  and  providential  reservations  of  bog,  and 
wild  mountain,  and  arctic  patches  a  thousand  miles 
square. 

Now,  after  all  this  talking,  I  am  quite  sure  that  Miss 
Araminta  is  fully  satisfied  that  hunting,  fishing,  and 
camping  out  are  recreations  perfectly  proper  for  busi 
ness  men,  scholars,  and  gentlemen,  and  that  a  kind 
providence  has  made  parts  of  the  world  fit  for  game 
and  uninhabitable  for  man,  that  we  sportsmen  might 
have  ample  grounds  for  tentage,  angle,  and  gun. 

A  wide  range  and  a  long  day,  I  said  in  the  morning ; 
and  it  has  proved  so.  Night  is  closing  in  as  I  thread 
my  path  back  to  the  encampment. 

"'  The  shades  of  eve  conic  slowly  down, 
The  woods  are  wrapped  in  deeper  brown, 
The  owl  awakens  IVoni  her  dell, 
The  fox  is  heard  upon  the  fell ; 
Enough  remains  of  glimmering  light 
To  guide  the  wanderer's  steps  aright." 

The  bearings  are  familiar,  and  the  cheerful  fires  and 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTEKS*    CAMP.          67 

camp  lights  soon  make  the  tall  old  trees  smile  to  their 
top  branches,  as  I  enter  the  ring  again.  The  supper 
hour  is  past  when  I  come  in,  but  Dock  has  not  for 
gotten  the  chaplain.  The  gravies  and  biscuit  arc  hot, 
and  the  coffee  steaming.  Now  the  side  of  a  brant,  and 
now  a  coon's  shoulder,  renew  me,  and  then  comes  a 
woodcock,  while  English  snipe  keep  me  busy  a  little 
longer,  and  The  General  is  made  to  wait  his  fourth 
beginning.  A  dish  of  canned  peaches  brings  the  sup 
per  to  a  period  and  the  story  to  an  opening. 


68  THE    GEJS'EEAL,    OB 


NOT  ALL  ROMANCE. 

"In  the  autumn  following,  1836,  I  again  left  New 
Jersey  with  men  and  outfit  for  a  land  surveyor,  and 
returned  South.  Leaving  my  men  in  camp  near  Vicks- 
burg,  I  went  to  Jackson,  on  Pearl  River,  about  forty 
miles,  and,  for  want  of  a  public  conveyance,  on  foot,  to 
see  the  surveyor  general,  whose  office  \vas  there,  and 
get  the  contract  and  instructions  for  my  first  survey 
for  government.  The  surveyor  general  for  Missis 
sippi  at  that  time  was  General  Henry  S.  Foot. 

"  My  papers  assigned  me  to  the  head  waters  of  the 
Sunflower  River,  amid  lakes,  cypress  swamps,  and 
canebrakes,  bears,  snakes,  and  alligators.  The  region 
was  unexplored,  subject  to  overflow,  and  a  part  of  the 
Choctaw  Purchase.  To  reach  the  ground  I  had  to 
ascend  the  Mississippi  to  a  point  nearly  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  Arkansas,  and  then  pack  my  supplies  to 
the  field,  across  many  small  streams  and  bayous,  that 
at  times  made  the  trip  almost  impossible. 

"  After  reaching  the  Sunflower  we  found  an  old 
pirogue  of  about  thirty  feet  in  length,  that  enabled  us 
to  navigate  the  stream  on  which  some  of  the  work  lay. 
This  relieved  the  men  of  much  labor,  as  in  our  situa 
tion  no  horse  or  mule  could  be  used,  and  all  transpor 
tation  was  made  on  our  backs.  These  lands  had  been 
taken  by  the  government  from  the  Choctaw  Indians, 
in  the  way  I  have  mentioned.  Though  some  of  the 
land  was  worthless,  its  survey  was  necessary. 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS*    CAMP.          69 

"  The  general  face  of  the  country  was  level,  broken 
into  ridges  in  places,  with  deep  bayous,  and  all  subject 
to  an  annual  overflow  from  the  Mississippi.  In  some 
portions  there  were  extensive  lakes  and  cypress  swamps, 
while  the  more  elevated  parts  were  covered  with  heavy 
timber  and  almost  impenetrable  canebrakes.  The  coun 
try  was  uninhabited,  except  by  raftsmen,  who  resorted 
there  in  winter  months  to  cut  cypress  timber,  and  float 
it  out  on  the  spring' rise  for  a  market  down  the  river, 
and  by  criminals,  who  had  fled  from  justice,  and  by 
runaway  negroes. 

"  Reaching  my  work,  thirty  miles  interior  from  the 
Mississippi,  I  found  it  anything  but  encouraging,  and  it 
would  have  been  abandoned  at  once,  and  my  party  re 
turned  home,  but  that  I  was  determined,  and  would  not 
allow  myself  to  abandon  it  because  of  difficulties.  The 
company  consisted  of  six  men,  the  most  of  them  of  no 
experience  in  the  rougher  employments  of  life.  Every 
thing  was  new  to  them  in  this  region  and  work  and 
manner  of  living.  They  were  therefore  full  of  excite 
ment,  and  ignorant  of  the  future,  and  so  entered  into 
the  enterprise  with  good  feeling  and  alacrity. 

"A  month  passed,  and  though  the  labor  was  ex 
treme,  cutting  our  lines  through  heavy  cane,  wading 
swamps  and  meandering  lakes,  yet  all  looked  cheerful 
on  our  difficulties,  and  anticipated  the  day  when  we 
should  be  through,  and  return  to  civilization  and  our 
homes.  But  as  the  work  progressed  the  labor  increased, 
as  the  country  became  more  low  and  marshy,  so  that 
often  a  day  would  be  spent  in  water  ten  and  fifteen 
inches  deep. 

"  Besides  this,  often,  in  running  meridian  lines,  our 


70  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

work  took  us  so  far  from  camp  during  the  day,  that  we 
could  not  return  at  night  without  great  waste  of  time 
and  travel.  So  at  times  we  were  obliged  to  carry  with 
us,  strapped  to  our  backs,  blankets  and  provision 
enough  to  last  us  several  days,  or  while  running  round 
a  township  six  miles  square.  Night  often  found  us  in 
water  leg  deep,  away  from  any  ridge,  where  a  comfort 
able  camp  could  be  made.  In  such  cases  we  had  to  cut 
trees  of  the  water  ash,  form  a  scaffolding  on  crotches 
above  the  water,  and  start  a  blaze  for  our  coffee  and 
cold  meats  on  one  end.  Here,  on  the  poles  softened  up 
by  brush,  we  would  spend  the  night,  and  in  the  morn 
ing  step  off  our  bed  and  commence  the  wading  for  the 
.day.  During  the  coldest  part  of  the  winter,  this  was  a 
rather  cool  proceeding,  as  the  ice  would  sometimes 
form  during  the  night,  and  lie  on  the  overflow  till  ten 
o'clock  in  the  day.  Generally  the  weather  was  cool, 
frequently  frosty,  with  heavy  rain  storms. 

"  Game  became  scarce,  excepting  bears,  and  these  it 
was  hard  to  kill  in  the  canebrake." 

When  The  General  mentioned  bears,  the  boys  shout 
ed,  "  Good !  "  "  There  they  are  ! "  "  Now  bring  on  your 
bears!''  and  the  like.  The  General  quietly  remarked, 
"  There  are  two  kinds  of  black  bears  in  America,  boys : 
one  is  the  bear  in  a  story,  and  the  other  is  the  bear  out 
doors."  He  continued  :  — 

"There  were  some  opossums  on  the  ridges  and 
among  the  persimmon  trees,  the  fruit  of  which  they 
like  much.  The  wild  fowl  were  abundant,  but  the  im 
mense  spread  of  water  made  the  field  too  large  for 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTEKS'    CAMP.  71 

hunting  them.  The  dependence  of  the  party  for  sup 
plies  was,  therefore,  almost  wholly  on  the  settlements 
on  the  Mississippi,  thirty  miles  distant. 

"  The  winter  of  1836-7  was  noted  for  an  unusual  over 
flow  of  the  Lower  Mississippi,  in  the  month  of  February. 
This  was  occasioned  by  the  open  winter  at  the  North, 
the  early  melting  of  the  snows,  and  heavy  rains.  As  a 
result,  many  suffered  from  it  extremely,  who  were  not 
prepared  for  it ;  and  we  were  among  them.  The 
pirogue  had  been  snagged,  her  bows  staved  in  beyond 
repair,  and  so  abandoned.  Provisions  grew  scanty,  lit 
tle  game  could  be  killed,  and  our  camp  was  fast  com 
ing  to  short  rations. 

"Indeed,  a  crisis  soon  came,  and  something  must  be 
done.  TV~c  put  ourselves  on  short  allowance,  and  eked 
out,  as  best  we  could,  our  famished  larder  with  opos 
sums  and  other  small  game,  with  now  and  then  a  cat 
fish.  But  we  could  not  run  the  risk  of  such  uncertain 
supplies.  They  must  be  packed  in  from  the  river.  I 
could  not  trust  any  of  my  men  to  thread  a  way  to  the 
nearest  post,  and  find  the  path  back  again.  I  must  go 
myself.  I  realized  the  personal  peril  in  this,  the  already 
half  starving  condition  of  my  men,  endangered  much 
more  by  being  left  probably  two  weeks  while  I  went 
for  supplies. 

"  It  had  become  warm  and  sultry  on  the  morning  I 
started,  and  by  ten  o'clock  thick,  heavy  clouds  began 
to  darken  the  sky.  To  one  accustomed  to  the  rainy 
season  in  the  South,  all  the  premonitory  symptoms  of 
a,  thunder-storm  appeared.  It  was  not  long  before  it 
burst  with  deep  rolling  thunder  over  the  solitary  and 
endless  waste  of  that  desolate  country.  Never  had  I 


72  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

seen  such  vivid  flashes,  as  it  were  currents  of  lightning, 
or  heard  such  awful  peals  of  thunder.  In  the  dense 
forest,  with  patches  of  impenetrable  canebrake  and 
thicket,  it  was  dark  at  noonday.  I  sought  shelter  in  a 
hollow  tree  till  the  strength  of  the  storm  should  be 
spent. 

"  Real  night  was  drawing  on,  when,  after  wandering 
on  in  some  confusion,  I  judged  it  best  to  retrace  my 
steps  for  camp.  But  all  was  changed.  In  the  dark 
ness  of  the  storm  I  had  become  bewildered,  and  could 
not  recognize  a  single  object ;  and  there  is  a  terrible 
sameness  to  a  southern  forest.  Not  one  known  point 
could  I  make  to  steer  by.  I  was  lost !  I  thought  of  a 
fire,  and  my  matches,  and  even  pistol,  were  soaked,  like 
myself.  As  the  darkness  deepened,  I  sought  shelter 
under  a  fallen  tree  that  rested  on  its  limbs,  two  feet 
from  the  ground.  Here,  amid  the  crash  of  falling  trees, 
whose  trunks  were  decayed,  and  that  after  heavy  rains 
are  apt  to  fall,  without  a  fire,  in  the  thick  darkness,  and 
made  more  sensible  and  gloomy  by  the  hooting  of 
owls,  I  ate  my  moist  lunch,  and  then  tried  to  while 
away  the  tedious  hours  of  the  night. 

"  There  was  the  hut  of  a  raftsman  about  half  way  on 
my  route  to  the  river,  that  I  had  intended  to  enjoy  on 
my  first  night  out.  I  had  a  sorry  camp  instead.  As 
soon  as  daylight  appeared  I  was  in  search  again  of  my 
trail,  or  some  lines  of  my  previous  surveys,  that  I 
might  know  my  location  and  take  my  bearings ;  but 
all  was  strange  to  me.  About  noon,  however,  I  came 
across  a  line  of  my  survey,  cut  through  a  canebrake  in 
the  early  part  of  my  work.  I  followed  this  for  some 
time,  but  when  the  sun  came  out  I  found  I  was  going 


in  the  wrong  direction.  I  then  doubled  on  my  track, 
and  went  in  the  opposite  course  till  I  struck  the  Sun 
flower  River,  and  soon  found  familiar  points  and  bear 
ings  on  my  old  survey.  With  light  steps  and  a  lighter 
heart  I  set  forward  with  renewed  vigor  for  the  camp 
of  the  raftsman,  which  I  reached  a  little  after  nightfall. 

"  I  have  told  you  before  that  these  camps  were 
almost  the  only  place  of  human  habitation  in  this 
wilderness,  and  that  these  were  often  the  abode  also 
of  the  freebooter.  The  escaped  criminal,  the  ncgro- 
stealer,  and  the  fugitive  slave  himself,  were  often  found 
in  these  cabins;  and  woe  to  the  officer  of  justice,  the 
master,  or  any  one  else,  who  attempted  an  arrest  in 
such  a  den  of  desperadoes. 

"  I  had  been  at  this  hut  before,  on  my  first  entrance 
into  the  forest,  and  had  seen  men  there  who  pretended 
to  be  choppers  and  raftsmen,  whose  whole  appearance 
indicated  another  business.  On  entering  at  this  time  I 
found  a  head  man,  and  a  good  supply  of  game,  meat, 
and  corn  meal.  There  were  piles  of  plunder  in  differ 
ent  parts  of  the  house,  which  seemed  to  have  been 
built  at  different  times,  and  as  occasion  required. 
Logs,  bark,  and  cane  were  used  indifferently  as 
material. 

"  It  was  very  evident  that  labor  was  not  the  inten 
tion  of  the  dwellers  in  this  den.  There  were  no  evi 
dences  of  it  in  the  vicinity,  and  I  soon  had  more  than 
suspicions  that  I  was  in  a  rendezvous  of  bandits.  As 
I  sat  by  the  fire,  awaiting  the  preparation  of  the  supper 
by  a  negro,  my  assurance  of  the  character  of  the  house 
was  confirmed  by  a  study  of  the  faces  of  the  men,  and 
by  the  vile  and  profane  language  they  used.  They 


74  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

were  evidently  a  gang  who  infested  that  country,  plun 
dering  traders  in  flat-boats,  merchants,  travellers,  and 
planters ;  being  negro  stealers,  cutthroats,  and  murder 
ers.  I  was  in  a  den  of  outlaws,  and  beyond  the  pale 
of  civilized  life. 

"The  keeper  knew  me  and  my  profession,  and  when 
this  was  explained  to  the  gang,  the  restraint  imposed 
by  a  stranger's  presence  was  thrown  off  in  a  measure, 
and  they  talked  with  more  freedom.  But  I  felt  secure 
even  among  such  a  horde  of  villains.  I  knew  that  the 
amount  of  money  I  might  be  supposed  to  have  would 
not  tempt  them  to  injure  me,  or  pay  the  risk  they 
would  incur  in  doing  it. 

"A  blanket  was  given  me,  and  I  lay  down  in  one 
corner  of  the  cabin  for  the  night.  During  the  late 
hours  there  was  a  fresh  arrival  of  two  white  men  and 
a  negro.  Whether  they  came  from  the  settlement  on 
the  river,  or  from  similar  camps  in  the  forest,  I  knew 
not ;  but  the  whites  seemed  acquainted  with  the  head 
man. 

"  It  is  a  characteristic  of  camp  life,  not  only  in  Mis 
sissippi,  but  all  through  the  new  settlements  and  wilds 
of  the  West,  that  travellers  and  strangers  are  always 
welcome  to  the  cabin  of  the  hunter  or  of  the  raftsman. 
If  one  in  hunting  or  exploring  pass  a  camp  from  which 
the  occupants  are  gone  for  the  time,  he  is  expected  to 
help  himself  of  what  the  house  affords  to  the  supply  of 
his  wants,  and  also  to  so  much  as  he  may  need  to  carry 
him  to  his  next  point  of  destination.  These  are  cour 
tesies  well  understood-  by  all  backwoodsmen.  The 
Rocky  Mountain  trapper  has,  on  such  occasions,  no 
luxuries  too  choice  to  be  brought  out  for  his  stranger- 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS*    CAMP.  75 

guest.  The  fattest  ribs  of  the  mountain  sheep,  the 
best  steak  of  the  antelope,  the  juicy  hump  of  the  buf 
falo,  or  the  rich  tail  of  the  beaver,  is  set  forth,  anil  the 
wanderer  to  that  cabin  is  made  welcome  and  glad. 

"  Years  afterwards,  in  those  fir  western  wilds  I 
proved  this.  The  courtesy  of  Roderick  Dim  to  James 
Fitz  James  was  a  fair  type  of  our  frontier  hunters  and 
trappers,  when 

'  lie  gave  him  of  liis  highland  cheer 
The  hardened  ilesli  of  mountain  deer.' 

"  I  resumed  my  weary  journey  in  the  morning,  not 
without  much  difficulty,  owing  to  the  rise  in  the  river 
and  the  wide  overflow  ;  but  I  reached  the  settlement. 
Several  days  were  consumed  in  the  purchase  of  pro 
visions,  and  in  arranging  to  get  them  in  to  my  men, 
since  I  had  to  do  all  this  at  St.  Francis,  on  the  oppo 
site  side  of  the  river.  I  hired  a  woodcutter's  cart  to 
haul  my  stores  as  far  as  possible  towards  my  camp. 
The  wheels  of  this  cart  were  made  by  sawing  off  two 
sections  from  the  end  of  a  log  three  feet  in  diameter, 
and  placing  a  rude  frame  on  their  axle.  Such  affairs 
were  used  then  to  carry  wood  to  the  river's  bank  for 
steamboats.  On  one  of  these  primitive  vehicles  I 
placed  my  provisions,  bacon,  corn  meal,  flour,  coffee, 
and  sugar,  with  a  few  articles  of  clothing. 

"  Thus  prepared,  with  one  man  as  driver,  I  com 
menced  my  anxious  return  to  camp.  I  avoided  the 
den  of  the  bandits  by  another  though  longer,  route. 
It  also  led  me  over  higher  ground,  by  which  I  hoped 
to  reach  the  upper  waters  of  the  Sunflower  with  the 
team.  I  had  ordered  my  men  to  remove  our  camp  to 


76  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

the  banks  of  this  river,  where,  in  the  early  part  of  our 
work,  we  had  what  we  called  Cane  Camp  ;  and  to  this 
point  I  hoped  to  raft  my  supplies  after  discharging  the 
team.  But  the  second  day  brought  us  to  the  banks  of 
a  deep  bayou.  Hero  was  a  dilemma,  formidable  and 
trying.  We  traversed  it  for  some  distance  up  and 
down,  but  found  no  indications  of  its  coming  to  an 
end.  In  fact  there  was  a  current  in  it,  caused  by  the 
overflow,  which  was  still  on  the  increase.  These  bay 
ous  are  not,  in  general,  very  wide,  but  deep,  having 
been  cut  through  the  alluvial  soil  by  the  annual  over 
flows.  A  tree  was  soon  felled  across,  and  a  portion  of 
the  provisions  taken  over.  Night  came  on  ;  the  camp 
fire  was  lighted,  the  oxen  made  secure,  and  we  slept 
after  the  fatigues  of  the  day. 

"It  was  decided,  the  next  morning,  that  we  should 
load  ourselves  with  as  much  provision  as  we  could 
carry,  and  attempt  so  to  reach  the  Sunflower.  There 
the  teamster  was  to  aid  me  in  making  the  raft,  and  then 
return  to  his  cattle,  pack  up  the  remaining  provisions, 
and  go  home,  while  I  was  to  float  what  we  had  carried 
to  the  river  down  to  my  famishing  men,  and  bring 
them  all  in  to  the  settlement.  We  started  at  an  early 
hour,  each  of  us  carrying  about  one  hundred  pounds 
of  bacon  and  flour.  At  the  distance  of  about  three 
miles  we  crossed  a  second  bayou  on  a  fallen  log,  where 
a  false  step  would  have  sent  us  into  ten  feet  of  water. 

"The  journey  was  tedious  both  for  want  of  path  and 
from  the  weight  of  our  packs.  •  On  reaching  the  river 
we  found  it  so  wide  from  the  overflow  as  to  be  almost 
unable  to  define  its  channel.  It  was  impossible  to  make 
a  raft  on  the  overflow,  and  run  it  into  the  channel,  on 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS*    CAMP.  77 

account  of  the  trees  and  undergrowth.  We  spent 
much  time  in  exploring  for  a  place  where  we  could 
build  and  launch  a  raft,  and  then  abandoned  this  pro 
ject  from  necessity.  Anxious  and  excited  for  the  con 
dition  of  my  men,  and  as  a  last  resort,  I  cached  a 
portion  of  the  provisions  on  a  ridge  near  by,  and  taking 
the  balance  on  my  back,  I  started  down  stream  almost 
in  despair,  leaving  the  teamster  to  return  home. 

"I  well  knew  that  to  follow  that  stream  would  brin<r 

O 

me  to  the  camp  of  my  suffering  men,  and  also  knew, 
that  from  the  condition  of  the  country,  in  the  present 
high  stage  of  water,  I  must  meet  many  streams  and 
bayous  putting  in,  that  it  would  be  exceedingly  difficult 
to  pass.  But  I  pressed  on  as  rapidly  as  my  burden 
would  allow,  sometimes  wading  deep  ravines,  and  at  oth 
ers  forcing  my  way  through  thickets  of  cane  and  prickly 
ash.  At  length  night  overtook  me,  and  I  found  refuge 
in  the  hollow  of  a  cypress  tree.  The  hollow  would  not 
allowr  me  to  lie  down,  but  in  a  reclining  posture,  with  a 
fire  in  front,  I  passed  the  night,  sleeping  but  little,  and 
in  anxiety  and  alarm  for  my  men. 

"  The  next  day1!  had  travelled  but  a  few  hours  when 
a  broad  sheet  of  water  presented  itself  like  a  lake,  con 
cealing  the  river  in  its  vast  expanse.  Here  again  were 
trouble  and  delay,  though  not  unexpected.  My  pur 
pose  was  formed  at  once.  TV"ading  in  as  far  as  I  could, 
I  procured  a  drift  log  afloat.  Separating  it  from  the 
jam,  I  got  astride  of  it,  with  my  pack  on  my  back,  and 
thus  for  half  a  mile  worked  my  way  with  a  pole  through 
the  drift,  till  I  came  to  land  on  the  opposite  side.  So 
I  urged  my  way  on  again  by  land  till  night  overtook 


78  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

me.  I  slept  in  a  thick  clump  of  cane,  and  was  early  on 
my  way  the  next  morning. 

"About  ten  o'clock  I  came  where  some  of  my  surveys 
struck  the  river;  then  I  knew  where  I  was,  and  how 
far  from  iny  men.  With  renewed  energy  I  now  pressed 
on,  heeding  no  obstacles,  my  thoughts  wild  with  emo 
tion,  and  the  condition  of  my  poor  men  constantly  prey 
ing  on  my  feelings.  The  circuitous  channel  of  the  river 
had  greatly  increased  the  distance,  and  night  again 
found  me  afar  from  them.  I  laid  myself  down  weary 
and  almost  discouraged.  In  any  other  circumstances, 
although  my  powers  of  endurance  were  great,  I  should 
have  sank  by  the  way ;  but  my  whole  soul  was  wrought 
up  to  a  kind  of  frenzy.  I  knew  that  my  men  could  not 
escape,  that  they  bad  long  been  without  provisions, 
that  all  game  had  fled  the  country,  that  starvation  was 
before  them,  and  that  relief  could  come  only  from  me. 
I  knew  that  I  was  within  a  few  miles  of  Cane  Camp, 
where  I  had  appointed  to  meet  them.  But,  two  weeks 
had  elapsed  since  I  left  them.  Would  I  find  them  all 
there,  and  alive  ?  These  were  my  thoughts  that  night 
and  the  next  morning,  as  I  dragged  my  weary  limbs 
along  down  the  banks  of  the  Sunflower. 

"  Suddenly  I  came  upon  the  camp  !  My  men  were 
lying  around  in  a  listless,  dejected  state  of  mind.  If 
they  showed  any  animation,  it  was  in  watching  the  large 
camp  kettle  that  hung  over  the  lire,  as  if  containing 
something  most  valuable.  Taken  all  in  all,  they  had  a 
wretched,  forlorn  appearance.  I  stood  looking  at  them 
but  a  moment,  when  my  strength  gave  way,  and,  with 
emotions  of  gratitude  for  their  preservation,  I  fell 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS5    CAMP.  79 

in  among  them,  and  we  all  wept  together  like  chil 
dren. 

"One  of  the  men  had  just  caught  a  catfish,  and  they 
were  boiling  it  without  salt  or  pepper,  and  watching 
with  engerness  the  slow  process  of  its  cooking.  They 
had  caught  one  three  days  before,  and  eaten  it,  but  the 
high  water  had  prevented  their  getting  a  supply.  Game 
of  every  kind,  except  the  opossum,  had  fled  from  the 
country,  as  if  by  instinct,  to  escape  the  overflow.  This 
animal,  being  slow  in  motion,  had  escaped  to  the  ridges, 
and  there  lived  on  the  persimmon.  Of  these  animals 
the  men  had  killed  a  scanty  supply,  and  sustained  life, 
roasting  and  eating  them  without  any  seasoning,  except 
the  white  ashes  of  the  hickory  bark  that  served  as  a 
kind  of  substitute  for  pepper  and  salt.  They  had  also 
gathered  the  persimmon,  and  eaten  it,  cooked  and  raw. 
So  they  lingered  in  life  and  hope,  awaiting  my  return, 
knowing  the  cause  of  my  delay,  but  believing,  too,  that 
I  would  come. 

"  The  overflow  had  now  begun  to  subside,  and  not  hav 
ing  much  provision  to  rely  on,  we  abandoned  the  sur 
vey,  and  took  up  our  march  for  the  settlement.  Near 
the  head  of  the  Sunflower  we  found  a  canoe  adrift. 
Into  this  we  put  our  luggage,  and  after  floating  it  as 
far  as  the  stream  would  allow,  we  fitted  poles,  like 
yokes,  to  the  bows  by  a  rope,  and  then,  by  two  and 
two,  like  Dr.  Kane's  men,  we  drew  it  across  to  the  Mis 
sissippi,  a  distance  of  nine  miles,  and  launched  it  on  its 
waters.  Here  the  party  broke  up.  Some  went  to  St. 
Francis,  some  returned  North,  while  my  assistant,  H., 
and  myself  went  down  to  Vicksburg  in  the  canoe.  I 


80  THE    GENERAL,    OH 

thence  went  out  to  Jackson,  made  my  report  to  the  Land 
Office,  and  then  H.  and  myself  took  steamer  for  St. 
Louis." 

Many  questions  were  put,  and  thrilling  incidents 
elicited  in  reply,  and  it  was  the  honest  hour  of  twelve 
before  the  camp  fire  of  Swan  Lake  dozed  that  night. 


CAMP.  81 


FIFTH  NIGHT. 

"  To  sit  on  rocks,  to  muse  o'er  flood  and  fell, 

To  slowly  trace  the  forest's  shady  scene, 

Where  things  that  own  not  man's  dominion  dwell, 

And  mortal  foot  hath  ne'er  or  rarely  been ; 

To  climb  the  trackless  mountain  all  unseen, 

With  the  wild  flock  that  never  needs  a  fold  ; 

Alone  o'er  steeps  and  foaming  falls  to  lean,  — 

This  is  not  solitude ;  'tis  but  to  hold 

Converse  with  Nature's  charms,  and  view  her  stores  unrolled." 

CIIILDE  HAROLD. 

NEVER  spent  a  night  in  a  sportman's  camp  ?  How 
old  are  you  ?  "  Well,  over  twenty-five."  You 
have  lost  a  great  deal,  but  it  is  not  too  late  to  recover 
something  from  your  mistakes  and  losses.  You  have 
never  yet  enjoyed  a  night  for  what  it  is  in  itself,  or,  as 
the  moralists  say,  a  night  per  se.  To  be  beyond  the 
sight  of  any  midnight  lamp  of  neighbors ;  beyond  the 
sound  of  lowing  cattle ;  beyond  the  noise  of  any  car 
riage,  mill,  or  other  human  activity ;  beyond  the  bark 
of  any  "  cur  of  low  degree,"  —  I  mean  a  common  watch 
and  farm  dog,  or  any  dog  except  a  hunter's  —  to  know 
that* solid,  splendid  miles  of  unsettled  country  lie  in  a 
state  of  pure  nature  between  your  blanket  pillow  and 
the  nearest  clearing  or  dwelling;  to  feel  this  frontier, 
uncivilized  darkness  wrapping  you  about  in  its  deep 
black  folds  —  that  is  to  enjoy  a  night  per  se.  If,  fortu- 
G 


82  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

nately,  you  are  alone,  you  exult  in  a  monopoly  of  the 
whole  thing  ;  you  control  the  market  without  a  com 
petitor,  like  a  Rothschild  on  'change.  If  you  have 
camp  fellows,  you  may  use  the  luxury  of  your  partial 
solitude  by  talking  about  it.  Still  there  will  be  the 
loss  of  real  value  by  human  interruptions  and  encroach 
ments.  The  darkness,  the  starry  expanse,  or  awful 
storm,  the  wide  reach  of  silence,  you  must  divide  up 
into  shares,  and  part  with  the  control  and  comforts  of 
some  of  them ;  your  meditations  will  be  interrupted, 
and  the  deep,  silent  flow  of  thought  diverted. 

You  sometimes  speak  of  a  morning  as  "  beautiful," 
"  charming,"  and  all  that  the  boarding-school  girls  say 
of  it.  Allow  me  to  ask  whether  you  ever  had  a  whole 
morning  all  to  yourself.  I  mean  all  out  doors  at  that 
hour  of  the  day,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  or  the  ear ; 
as  extensive  a  morning,  I  mean,  as  would  cover  twelve 
hours'  foot-travel  in  all  directions.  Perhaps  you  have 
taken  a  part  in  a  morning  from  the  balcony  of  the 
Ocean  House,  or  the  Tip-top  House,  or  from  a  crest  of 
the  Alleghanies,  in  old  stage  times.  Well,  that  is  bet 
ter  than  no  morning  at  all.  City  people,  who  are  sel 
dom  off  the  pavement,  and  out  of  coal  smoke  and  the 
odor  of  garbage,  often  say  to  me,  "AYhat  a  delightful 
morning!"  and  they  speak  so  sincerely  and  joyfully, 
just  as  if  they  know  the  article  when  they  see  it,  and 
the  varieties  in  it,  and  had,  right  there  on  those  flag  stones 
and  brick  walls,  and  through  that  dingy  window  on  a 
back  alley  with  a  grape  vine,  a  number  one  specimen 
of  mornings. 

Come,  now,  let  us  see  a  morning  in  camp.  We 
are  on  the  St.  Croix  —  two  of  us  —  between  Great 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS*    CAMP.  83 

Lake  and  Grand  Lake.  Our  tent  crowns  a  bit  of  a 
mound  overlooking  the  river.  Back  of  us, "on  the  east, 
goes  up  a  hill,  as  the  hill  of  Bashan,  and  over  it  the 
gray  dawn  is  just  coming.  Throw  open  the  tent-fly,  and 
step  out,  and  stand  still,  and  keep  silence,  lor  half  an 
hour.  You  catch  at  once  the  outline  of  the  hills  against 
the  blushing  eastern  sky.  Leaving  you  standing  in  twi 
light,  the  rays  pass  over  your  tent,  and  gild  the  western 
mountains,  that  stretch  right  and  left.  The  birds  open 
their  anthem  of  Morn  Among  The  Mountains,  and  a  full 
orchestra  renders  the  chorus.  The  light  deepens,  fills 
the  valley  on  the  south,  and  comes  flooding  up  the 
channel,  where  the  river,  on  rocks,  and  in  gorges,  and 
over  falls,  has  been  sending  up  its  rich  bass  all  the 
night,  and  ever  since  the  night  of  chaos,  when  the 
waters  began  their  circuit  to  keep  their  place.  Look 
north,  and  how  the  new  light  gives  the  lake  a  morning 
kiss !  Far  up,  farther,  and  still  beyond,  see  with  your 
field-glass  the  golden  sheet  of  a  real  morning.  Fleecy, 
misty  patches  of  clouds  now  go  up,  as  blankets,  from 
the  bed  of  the  lake,  to  be  aired.  The  trees  —  and  you 
never  saw  trees  so  green  before  —  flutter  their  wel 
come  to  the  young  day,  and,  as  sunrise  falls  at  your 
feet,  the  wild  flowers  lift  up  their  dewy  heads. 

That  is  a  clean,  full,  original  morning,  and  all  ours. 
A  beautiful  morning  in  a  city !  What  a  delusive 
thought !  We  sportsmen  have  the  first  chance  at  Xa- 
ture,  and  get  all  the  best  specimens. 

Now  for  a  breakfast.  One  kindles  the  camp  fire, 
and  the  other  throws  a  well-selected  fly  where  the 
river  makes  a  deep  eddy.  In  twenty  minutes  three 
land-locked  salmon  lie  very  close  to  the  coals,  and 


84  THE    GENERAL,    OB 

the  breakfast  is  as  good  as  that  morning  of  June  4, 
1864,  when  we  ate  it. 

A  storm  is  nowhere  so  thoroughly  natural  and  ter 
rible  as  in  a  deep  forest,  where  it  has  always  had  its 
way.  It  was  in  September,  1854,  when  we  were  lying 
by  in  the  logmen's  cabin,  on  the  head-waters  of  Union 
River,  Maine,  where  we  dished  our  venison  stew  to 
those  strangers,  that  I  first  felt  the  grandeur  and  glory 
of  a  forest  storm.  We  were  well  housed  when  night 
closed  in  with  a  little  rain  and  stiff  wind,  and  clouds 
running  from  the  south-east.  On  rising  ground,  and  in 
a  clearing,  with  a  massive  old  log  cabin,  we  had  noth 
ing  to  fear,  and  so  only  to  enjoy  the  elements  in  a  rage. 
There  was  never  a  darker  night,  and  I  think  it  never 
rained  harder.  It  came  slopping,  splashing,  as  if  spilled 
over  from  some  wandering  cistern  in  the  sky.  The 
wind  rose  from  breeze  to  gale.  It  rushed  and  howled 
as  if  it  were  a  personal  fury.  A  low  marsh,  or  lagoon, 
in  front  of  us,  exposed  our  cabin  to  all  the  force  of  the 
tempest.  The  forest  groaned  and  roared,  as  the  storm 
swept  into  it.  Old  trees,  decayed  and  dry,  were  satu 
rated  with  the  pelting  rain ;  and  then,  partly  from  their 
own  weight,  and  partly  from  the  violence  of  the  storm, 
they  would  go  crashing  and  thundering  to  the  ground. 
All  through  the  first  part  of  the  night,  at  intervals,  we 
could  hear  these  falling  trees  near  by.  They  had  en 
dured  for  ages,  and  been  passed  by  the  woodman  as 
unsound,  and  this  was  their  last  night.  Many  a  green 
and  strong  one  also  went  with  them.  I  never  knew  so 
wild  a  night.  The  location,  twenty  long  miles  from 
any  human  habitation,  the  darkness,  the  rain,  the  wind, 
the  roaring  forest,  and  the  crash  of  trees,  made  the 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS     CAMP.  85 

scene  fairly  sublime.  It  needed  only  the  lightning  and 
thunder  in  proportion  to  make  it  terrible.  I  would 
sooner  shut  from  my  memory  and  mind's  eye  a  score 
of  the  best  paintings  I  ever  saw  than  the  impressions 
of  that  night.  The  warm  sun  came  with  the  morning, 
and  for  a  still  hunt  among  the  deer  the  day  was  delight 
ful.  I  would  Bierstadt  had  been  with  us  that  night : 
in  what  a  frenzy  of  inspiration  would  he  the  next  day 
have  dashed  off  After  The  Storm ! 

You  err  hugely  in  supposing  we  sportsmen  follow 
the  wilderness  mainly  for  the  joy  of  so  many  pieces  of 
game  shot  or  angled.  So  we  have  our  morning  and 
evening  meal  of  our  labor,  we  are  filled  with  success, 
and  all  the  rest  is  the  higher  enjoyment  of  studying  the 
pictures  of  Nature  in  her  own  studio.  You  should  read 
what  good  Wynkyn  de  Worde  says  in  The  Treatyse 
of  Fysshynge  wyth  an  Angle  —  a  small  folio  of  1496. 
Yet,  to  be  exact,  I  must  add,  that  Wynkyn  only  re- 
published  this  valuable  work.  The  author  was  my  lady 
lulyans  Berners,  prioress  of  the  nunnery  of  Sopwell, 
near  St.  Albans  ;  and  she  printed  ten  years  before,  with 
Caxton's  letter,  this  Treatyse.  And  it  is  a  great  infeli 
city  that  "Mary  Powell,"  in  her  Household  of  Sir 
Thomas  More,  makes  that  rare  and  exact  scholar  quote 
the  work  to  Erasmus  as  Wynkyn's.  Sir  Thomas  would 
not  so  blunder.  This  is  what  Lady  Juliana  Barnes 
says  :  — • 

"  Also  ye  shall  not  use  this  forsayd  crafty  dysporte, 
for  no  couetysense,  to  the  encreasynge  and  sparynge 
of  your  money  oonly  ;  but  pryncypally  for  your  solace, 
and  to  cause  the  helthe  of  your  body,  and  specyally  of 
your  soule.  For  whanne  ye  purpoos  to  goo  on  your 


86  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

dysportes  in  fysshynge,  yc  well  not  desyre  gretly  many 
persons  wyth  yon,  whyche  myghte  lette  you  of  your 
game.  And  thenne  ye  may  serue  God  deuowtly,  in 
sayenge  afFectuously  your  custumable  prayer ;  and, 
thus  doynge,  ye  shall  eschewc  and  voyde  many  vices.'' 

It  is  thus  enjoying  Nature  in  her  undisturbed  simpli 
city,  before  any  blemish  of  man  has  marred  the  natural 
ness  in  all  her  varied  phases,  and  moods,  and  times,  that 
makes  the  wilderness  pastime  so  fascinating.  Let  me 
illustrate  by  showing  you  a  picture  I  took,  in  memory, 
about  the  middle  of  July,  1861.  For  if  you  go  back  to 
camp  now,  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  you  will  not 
find  The  General  there,  or  any  hunters,  not  even  a  dog, 
but  only  Dock  and  Rube  among  the  kettles. 

With  salmon-rod,  reels  and  lines,  choice  flies  and 
gaff,  and  some  smaller  "  harnays,"  as  the  prioress  calls 
it,  for  the  smaller  members  of  the  Salrno  family,  I  run 
through  Bangor  to  Old  Town  by  rail.  Thence  the 
ancient  stage  took  me  by  the  Matawamkeag  and  Holton 
to  Presquc  Isle.  A  one-horse  power  worked  me  along 
to  Fort  Fairfax,  of  bloodless  memory,  and  the  Falls  of 
the  Aroostook,  four  miles  above  its  entrance  into  the 
St.  John's.  "No  steamer  runs  to  those  falls,  or  railroad, 
or  stage  —  a  blissful  region.  Xothing  runs  there  but 
game  and  the  river.  The  few  scattered  inhabitants 
walk  about,  just  a  little.  ISTo  hotel,  no  boarding-house, 
and,  what  is  better  still,  nobody  inquiring  for  one.  I 
found  a  tent  on  the  beach,  just  under  the  falls,  occupied 
by  one  man  —  a  Scotch  Presbyterian,  from  Tobique  — 
who  was  netting  salmon.  I  at  once  rented  one  half  the 
establishment,  and  paid  him  in  news  from  The  States, 
and  all  about  the  war  just  opened.  I  found  my  Tent 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS*    CAMP.  87 

On  The  Beach  quite  equal  to  Whittier's,  the  only  differ 
ence  being  that  I  cannot  give  mine  as  good  a  poetic 
setting  for  the  public  eye. 

Here  is  a  river  of  good  volume  for  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles,  hunting  for  an  outlet  to  the  sea.  ISTear 
the  St.  John's,  that  it  has  scented  from  afar,  it  meets  a 
mountain  range  and  barrier  a  mile  and  more  in  depth. 
Through  this  it  has  sapped  and  mined,  worried  and 
worn  and  forced  its  way  for  ages  no  doubt,  mnking  its 
channel.  As  if  still  vexed  for  long  delay,  it  rushes  madly 
down  this  o:or^e.  The  chasm  is  not  more  than  two 

O         O 

bow-shots  wide,  and  at  points  not  one.  Vast  masses 
of  rock  lie  along  in  the  channel  confusedly,  as  if  an 
earthquake  should  topple  and  tumble  all  the  blocks  on 
botli  sides  of  Broadway  into  that  Xew  York  thorough 
fare.  The  walls  are  ragged  cliffs,  forty,  sixty,  a  hun 
dred  and  fifty  feet  high  in  places,  and  often  perpen 
dicular.  With  the  greatest  care  one  can,  here  and 
there,  get  down  to  the  waters  edge.  But  it  is  an  angry 
torrent,  boiling,  thundering,  and  foaming.  "Now  it  lets 
itself  roughly  over  a  precipice  of  five  or  ten  feet,  and 
now  a  clean  shoot  and  unbroken  plunge  of  twenty.  It 
gouges  into  the  sides  of  the  mountain,  grinding  with 
the  loose  stone  it  keeps  whirling  there,  vast  smooth 
caldrons  forty  feet  in  diameter.  In  these  great  eddies 
the  salmon  rest  as  they  try  to  work  their  way  up.  The 
noise  drowns  all  other  sounds,  and  conversation  at 
many  points  along  the  channel  is  impossible.  Fortu 
nately  for  me,  I  had  it  all  to  myself. 

I  lay  about  on  the  edges  of  the  cliffs,  and  on  project 
ing  rocks,  and  wherever  I  could  reach  a  bracket  on  the 
bald  walls,  for  hours  each  day.  I  was  never  weary  or 


88  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

satisfied  in  looking.  Beauty,  strength,  terror,  security, 
combined  in  the  picture.  Each  new  position  gave  a 
new  view,  and  the  old  one  was  never  twice  alike.  It 
was  a  great  addition  to  ray  solitary  enjoyment  of  the 
scene,  that  at  the  time  I  was  there  a  rise  in  the  river 
of  twenty  inches  took  place,  and  made  it  possible  to 
work  off  a  jam  of  logs,  that  had  lodged  at  the  upper 
entrance  of  the  falls.  A  gang  of  red  shirts  were  work 
ing  these  loose,  and  so  one  by  one  they  were  running 
the  gantlet  of  the  rocky  pass.  Some  of  these  sticks 
of  timber  squared  three  feet  and  more  on  a  side,  and 
were  forty  and  fifty  long.  They  were  all  squared.  The 
mad  river  tilted  them  against  projecting  rocks,  and  into 
curved  banks,  with  a  concussion  that  could  be  felt  far 
from  the  shore,  and  be  heard  for  a  mile.  Sometimes 
they  would  be  pitched  over  the  rapid  shoots  end  for 
end,  and  rise  and  fall  on  the  water  or  rocks,  or  each 
other,  in  a  terrific  manner. 

At  the  foot  of  these  rapids,  and  where  the  stream  is 
most  tumultuous,  it  dashes  itself  furiously  against  a 
high  rock  as  huge  as  a  large  church,  standing  midway 
in  the  channel.  The  waters  leap  far  up  the  front  of 
this  barrier,  as  if  in  a  last  effort  of  strength,  and  then 
fall  off  madly  right  and  left,  and  about  equally,  into  a 
basin  of  fifty  acres  or  more  —  a  kind  of  Titan's  wash 
bowl.  Here  they  seethe,  and  boil,  and  foam  in  a  frolic 
of  good-natured  riot.  In  this  basin,  up  to  the  very 
plunge  around  that  huge  dividing  rock,  I  lay  long  hours 
dancing,  as  in  an  egg  shell,  in  ray  fragile  birch,  tempt 
ing  the  salmon  with  my  fly.  The  lusty  fellows  would 
occasionally  throw  themselves  out  of  water  with  a  laz}r 
majesty,  but  were  very  shy  of  ray  attentions.  I  took 


TWELVE   NIGHTS   IX    THE    HUXTEEs'    CAMP.          89 

only  smaller  ones  —  the  grilse.  The  freshet,  that  gave 
me  the  grand  river  views,  almost  spoiled  my  fly-fishing 
for  salmon,  by  filling  the  water  with  drift  and  refuse. 

But  evening  steals  on  with  my  long  stories,  and  we 
are  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  Union.  Let  us  telegraph 
ourselves  from  the  Aroostook  Falls  to  Swan  Lake,  or 
we  shall  lose  the  opening  of  The  General's  fifth  story. 
But  as  we  scud  along  over  the  wires,  will  you  not  con 
cede  that  we  sportsmen  get  the  very  best  views  of 
Nature  —  author's  proofs,  so  to  speak  ? 


90  THE    GENERAL,    OK 


OVER  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

"  When  I  closed  last  night  I  head  escaped  from  the. 
canebrakes  and  cutthroats  of  the  Mississippi  swamps, 
and  was  directing  my  course  towards  St.  Louis.  This 
was  in  the  spring  of  1837.  At  this  time  there  was 
much  excitement  about  Wisconsin  Territory  and  the 
Black  Hawk  Purchase  lying  on  the  Upper  Mississippi. 
A  treaty  had  been  made  with  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians, 
and  that  territory  purchased  and  laid  open  to  settle 
ment.  Immigration  had  already  commenced.  The 
surveys  of  the  country  had  been  ordered,  and  the 
beauty  and  fertility  of  it  made  public. 

"  Therefore  any  friend  II.  and  myself,  now  returning 
home  from  the  South,  determined  to  visit  that  region. 
We  planned  to  go  up  the  river  as  far  as  the  Dubuque 
lead  mines,  thence  across  to  Chicago,  and  down  the 
lakes  by' Niagara  Falls  to  New  Jersey. 

"At  that  time  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin  comprised 
not  only  what  is  now  that  large  and  beautiful  state,  but 
all  the  present  State  of  Iowa,  and  a  portion  of  Min 
nesota,  then  little  known  except  to  the  hunter  and 
trapper. 

"On  board  the  steamer  from  St.  Louis  I  became 
acquainted  witli  Colonel  George  L.  Davenport,  of 
Rock  Island,  murdered  in  1845,  and  I).  C.  Eldridge, 
postmaster  at  Davenport  —  a  little  town  then  just 
starting  on  the  Iowa  side  of  the  river,  and  opposite 
to  Rock  Island.  These  gentlemen,  learning  my  pro- 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.  91 

fession,  urged  me  very  much  to  stop  at  Davenport,  and 
examine  the  country  with  a  view  to  settlement. 

"We  had  left  St.  Louis  in  a  little  steamer  —  the 
Olive  Branch  —  of  small  dimension,  as  the  water  on 
the  rapids  was  too  low  for  a  large  boat,  and  wore  five 
days  in  making  the  trip  to  Rock  Island.  We  lay  by  at 
Keokuk  one  day  —  a  place  then  of  a  few  log  shanties 
and  whiskey  shops.  Here  were  gathered  Keokuk's 
band  of  Sacs  and  Foxes,  spending  a  few  days  at  the 
old  trading-post  of  the  American  Fur  Company.  Black 
Hawk  and  his  family  were  encamped  a  short  distance 
above  the  village.  It  was  here  that  I  first  saw  those 
two  celebrated  chiefs  —  Black  Hawk  and  Keokuk. 
Keokuk,  the  gifted  orator,  one  of  Xature's  own  noble 
men,  was  in  a  most  beastly  state  of  intoxication.  They 
were  on  their  way  to  Rock  Island  to  attend  a  council, 
called  to  reply  to  an  invitation  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  Martin  Van  Buren,  to  visit  Washington 
by  a  delegation. 

"  The  passage  was  somewhat  tedious,  but  passed  pleas 
antly  amid  new  scenes  constantly  coming  in  view.  The 
marked  difference  in  the  scenery  between  the  Lower 
and  the  Upper  Mississippi,  from  the  monotonous,  dead 
level  of  the  South  to  the  beautiful  and  varied  sloping 
bluffs  of  the  Xortb,  at  once  excited  emotions  of  pleas 
ure.  The  newly-built  cabin  of  the  immigrant,  the 
virgin  soil  for  the  first  time  opened  to  receive  the  seed 
of  the  husbandman,  were  scenes  of  interest  to  all, 
and  we  could  see  that  the  darkness  of  barbarism  was 
giving  way  to  civilization  and  improvements.  On  that 
trip  I  for  the  first  time  set  my  eyes  on  Sturgeon  Bay, 
and  surveyed  the  margins  of  this  beautiful  hunting- 


92  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

ground,  now  made  forever  famous  by  the  grand  encamp 
ment  of  this  Club  on  Swan  Lake." 

When  tliis  was  said,  with  all  the  gravity  that  the 
august  circumstances  required,  the  entire  company,  led 
off  by  the  boys,  sent  out  three  cheers  into  the  dark 
ness,  that  I  make  no  doubt  could  be  heard  to  the  shore 
of  the  big  river.  The  General  continued :  — 

"It  was  about  the  middle  of  April,  1837,  when  we 
landed  at  Rock  Island.  After  the  delay  of  an  hour  or 
two  we  ran  across  to  Davenport.  Of  this  beautiful  spot, 
and  to  be,  as  it  proved,  my  future  home,  I  will  speak 
more  fully  another  night. 

"  At  the  time  of  which  I  now  speak,  the  interior  of 
Iowa  was  but  little  known.  In  a  few  days  I  was  mount 
ed  with  three  others,  having  my  old  and  faithful  cane- 
brake  compass  by  my  side,  to  explore  the  strange  land. 
"We  struck  out  where  the  only  path  was  the  Indian 
trail.  Now,  for  the  first  time,  I  saw  a  prairie  —  one  of 
those  great  western  seas  of  living  green.  To  me  it  was 
not  only  a  new  but  a  noble  sight.  Gently  rolling,  it 
looked  like  the  waves  of  the  ocean,  stayed  in  their  course 
by  Him  who  stilleth  the  tempest,  and  now  covered  over 
with  the  grass  and  flowrers  of  an  early  spring.  Here 
and  there  stood  small  clusters  of  trees,  but  the  whole 
country  looked  like  a  deserted  land  —  a  land  where 
man  once  dwelt,  but  where  by  some  desolating  blast 
all  had  been  swept  away  —  houses,  fences,  ail  traces 
of  settlement.  The  stillness  of  the  scene,  as  we  gal 
loped  along  over  the  bed  of  flowers,  cast  a  tinge  of 
melancholy  over  my  feelings.  For  the  thoughts  would 


arise  of  a  once  prosperous  people,  who  may  have  lived 
jiere,  and  of  the  causes  of  their  desolation  and  extinc 
tion. 

"  At  night  we  came  to  a  small  grove  —  one  of  those 
little  islands  of  trees  in  the  great  sea  of  grass  —  and 
here  we  encamped.  It  was  near  the  first  of  May,  and 
in  the  stillness  of  the  region  nothing  could  be  heard 
but  the  cooing  of  the  prairie  fowl,  and  the  noisy  gabble 
of  the  ducks  and  wild  geese  in  some  distant  lake. 

"  We  proceeded  on  our  way  with  the  morning,  some 
times  frightening  the  deer  from  his  bed  in  the  tall 
grass,  and  sometimes  the  prairie  wolf  from  his  retreat 
in  the  hazel  clump.  And  so  on  and  on,  till  we  came  to 
the  timber  that  skirted  the  banks  of  the  Cedar.  "We 
went  up  that  stream  for  many  days,  examining  the 
country,  admiring  its  beauty,  and  exulting  in  the  pros 
pect  of  its  settlement  into  the  stir  and  progress  of  civil 
society.  The  streams  and  branches  that  we  found  were 
swift  and  clear,  and  though  timber  was  scarce,  except 
near  the  watercourses,  no  land  seemed  better  adapted 
to  the  wants  of  man. 

"  The  unrivalled  beauty  of  this  section  of  the  West, 
not  only  of  Rock  Island  and  its  immediate  surround 
ings,  but  of  its  rich  interior,  its  tempting  soil  fruitful  in 
so  many  of  the  staples  of  life,  and  its  noble  river  and 
banks,  nowhere  in  its  long  course  nobler  than  here, 
induced  me  at  once  to  fix  on  it  as  the  place  of  my 
future  home.  I  had  travelled  over  the  rugged  hills  of 
New  England,  and  tarried  on  the  pleasant  plains  of 
New  Jersey;  I  had  seen,  too,  the  rich  cotton  lands 
of  the  sunny  South ;  but  nowhere  had  I  beheld  such 
climate,  fertility,  and  beauty  combined. 


94  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

"  After  our  return  from  this  excursion  for  exploring 
the  interior,  I  had  leisure  for  more  particular  observa 
tions  on  the  location,  beauties,  and  history  of  Rock 
Island,  and  the  wild  region  about,  and  for  an  acquaint 
ance  with  the  Indian,  his  habits  of  life,  virtues  and 
vices,  prejudices  and  preferences.  This  was  just  after 
the  Black  Hawk  war  closed.  The  Indians  had  sold 
their  possessions  to  the  United  States,  but  a  portion  of 
the  tribe,  being  dissatisfied,  were  unwilling  to  remove 
from  the  scenes  of  their  childhood  and  the  graves  of 
their  fathers. 

"The  great  war  chief  Black  Hawk,  five  years  before, 
had  been  basely  treated  by  the  civil  chief  of  the  tribe, 
Keokuk,  by  a  treaty  sale  of  the  territory,  in  which  he 
was  not  consulted,  and  to  which  he  never  gave  his  con 
sent  or  signature.  Following  this,  his  wigwams  had 

o  o  o 

been  burned  by  the  whites,  his  cornfields  ploughed  up, 
and  his  people  driven  off  to  seek  asylum  in  other  tribes. 

"  These  cruelties,  imposed  on  him  by  the  grasping 
avarice  of  the  white  man,  rendered  him  desperate;  so, 
gathering  around  him  a  few  faithful  warriors,  lie  com 
menced  hostilities  against  the  whites,  with  all  the  bit 
terness  of  Indian  cruelty  and  revenge.  With  the 
tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  he  crept  through  the 
little  settlements  of  the  Rock  River  country  in  Illinois, 
spreading  terror,  and  burning,  and  death  in  his  track; 
but  armed  forces  of  the  government,  with  volunteers, 
were  soon  on  his  trail. 

"Black  Hawk  had  been  made  a  brave  for  some 
daring  act  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen,  and  was  cele 
brated  in  his  nation  and  among  the  surrounding  tribes 
as  a  great  warrior.  He  had  served  the  English  in  the 


war  of  1812,  and  was  the  intimate  and  devoted  friend 
of  Tecumseh.  He  succeeded  his  father  in  the  chieftain 
ship,  and  had  but  rarely  known  defeat  in  battle.  He 
was  a  proud,  imperious  man,  feared  by  his  enemies,  and 
venerated  by  his  own  people.  Keokuk  was  his  rival, 
but  had  no  hereditary  claim  to  lead  the  tribe.  He  rose 
from  obscurity  by  the  mere  force  of  native  talent,  and 
earned  his  name,  which  means  Watchful  Fox.  He 
was  a  Sac  in  blood,  and  disposing  of  the  lands  of  his 
tribe  in  the  way  I  have  mentioned,  brought  about  a 
bitter  strife  between  him  and  Black  Hawk.  He  was 
an  intimate  friend  of  the  whites,  and  was  influenced 
by  them  in  the  matter  of  the  treaty  that  dispossessed 
Black  Hawk's  band  of  their  homes  without  their 
knowledge. 

"  In  his  bloody  march  up  the  Rock  River  valley, 
Black  Hawk  expected  aid  from  his  old  allies,  the  Win- 
nebagoes.  But  when  he  reached  their  villages,  he 
found  that  the  tribe  would  not  assist  him.  He  had 
been  to  Canada,  before  entering  on  this  war-path,  visit 
ing  various  tribes  there,  and  obtaining  from  them  a 
promise  of  aid  in  his  present  campaign.  These  also 
now  disappointed  him,  and  he  was  left  to  fight  his 
battles  alone. 

"  General  Atkinson  was  at  the  head  of  our  forces  in 
pursuit,  and  came  tip  with  Black  Hawk  at  Sycamore 
Creek,  on  Rock  River,  when  a  skirmish  took  place,  and 
the  whites  were  forced  to  fall  back.  Black  Hawk  then 
fled  across  the  country,  towards  the  Wisconsin  River, 
with  our  forces  in  close  pursuit.  He  reached  a  point  on 
the  Mississippi  about  one  hundred  miles  above  Prairie 
du  Chien,  called  Bad  -Axe,  where  he  was  forced  to 


THE  GENERAL,  OB 

abandon  the  field  before  superior  numbers.  He  was 
eye-witness  to  the  destruction  of  his  little  band  while 
swimming  the  river,  and  he  himself  was  captured 
through  the  treachery  of  two  Winnebago  chiefs. 

"  When  carried,  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  down  the  river 
past  Rock  Island,  the  grand  theatre  of  his  life,  and 
where  were  the  graves  of  his  fathers,  with  the  ashes 
of  his  wigwams,  he  is  said  to  have  wept  like  a  child. 
A  sight  of  so  many  familiar  and  hallowed  spots,  with 
the  memories  connected,  harrowed  up  the  soul.  This 
was  his  last  look,  and  it  was  manliness  to  weep.  And 
then  came  out  the  great  truth  that  there  is  feeling  in 
the  heart  of  the  Indian.  It  was  nobleness  in  the  aged 
warrior,  going,  as  he  was,  to  the  prison  of  the  white 
man,  robbed  of  his  earthly  possessions,  and  bowed  down 
with  wrongs,  to  weep  over  his  fallen  greatness,  when 
it  was  so  ignominiously  trodden  under  foot.  In  full 
view  of  all  that  was  good  of  earth,  the  home  of  his 
fathers  for  nearly  two  centuries,  the  endearing  spot  of 
his  childhood,  and  with  his  children  and  tribe  driven 
about  and  slain. like  the  deer  of  his  native  wilds,  why 
should  he  not  be  in  bitterness?  The  stoical  nature  of 
the  Indian  is  proverbial,  but  oppression  and  cruel  wrong, 
long  continued,  can  bring  him  to  grief  like  a  woman's. 

"About  the  middle  of  May  of  this  year,  an  Indian 
council  was  held  at  the  trading-post  and  fort  on  Rock 
Island,  by  the  Sacs  and  Foxes.  It  was  the  one  I  have 
already  mentioned,  to  answer  the  invitation  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren.  There  were  also,  at  this  time,  about  five 
hundred  Potawatamies  encamped  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  river,  who  were  invited  to  be  present.  These  were 
on  their  way  to  new  homes  on  the  Missouri  River, 


having  been  removed  by  government  from  the  Rock 
River  country.  By  the  courtesy  of  Colonel  Davenport, 
the  Indian  agent,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  sitting  in  the 
council. 

"The  council  was  opened  by  passing  around  the 
calumet,  of  which  all  took  a  few  puffs.  This  pipe  be 
longs  to  the  tribe,  and  is  requisite  on  all  public  occa 
sions  when  business  of  importance  is  to  be  transacted. 
The  bowl  is  made  from  the  red  pipe-stone,  obtained 
near  Spirit  Lake,  Minnesota,  and  will  hold  about  half  a 
pint  of  what  they  smoke  —  kinnikinnic  —  being  a  mix 
ture  of  tobacco  with  a  native  weed.  The  stem  of  the 
pipe  is  about  six  feet  in  length,  made  from  an  ash  sap 
ling,  with  the  pith  driven  out.  The  whole  is  highly 
ornamented  with  the  feathers  of  various  birds,  and 
beads,  and  bells.  The  pipe  having  been  smoked,  silence 
was  observed  for  a  short  time,  when  a  chief  arose, 
and  addressed  the  assembly,  dwelling  principally  on 
the  condition  of  the  tribe,  and  how  they  had  passed  the 
winter.  Then  another  brave  harangued  the  council  on 
matters  of  a  more  popular  nature  ;  when  the  agent, 
through  the  interpreter,  Mr.  Le  Claire,  read  to  them 
the  invitation  of  the  president.  Much  satisfaction  was 
visible  on  the  countenances  of  the  dusky  assembly. 

"When  the  agent  asked  what  answer  he  should 
send  back  to  their  great  father,  Keokuk  slowly  rose, 
letting  fall  his  scarlet  blanket  from  his  shoulders,  dis 
playing  a  gaudy  calico  shirt,  ruffled  after  the  fashion 
of  his  people.  From  his  scalp-lock  hung  the  feathers 
of  the  bald  eagle,  the  hawk,  and  .the  raven,  while 
around  his  neck,  in  bold  relief,  drooped  a  necklace  of 
the  claws  of  the  grizzly  bear,  mounted  on  wampum  of 
7 


U<5  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

beads  and  porcupine  quills.  His  noble  features  were 
painted  in  the  most  fantastic  colors,  and  his  bosom  was 
thrown  open,  exposing  the  broad  chest  and  full  muscle. 

"  "With  slow  and  measured  tread,  the  little  bells  on 
his  leggings  tinkling  at  every  step,  he  shook  hands  first 
with  the  whites,  and  then  with  his  own  people.  Taking 
his  position  in  front  of  the  agent,  he  began  his  speech 
by  expressing  the  pleasure  he  felt  in  seeing  his  friends, 
the  white  men,  around  him,  and  his  braves,  who  had 
always  stood  by  him,  and  fought  the  Sioux  so  nobly. 
He  then  spoke  of  the  invitation  sent  them  by  his  great 
father  at  Washington,  and  complimented  him  on  his 
good  sense  in  sending  for  him  and  his  chiefs.  He  said 
his  father  was  a  great  chief,  and  the  white  people  a  great 
nation  ;  that  the  fires  of  their  wigwams  always  burned 
brightly,  and  their  hearts  were  very  large ;  and  that  he 
should  go  to  see  his  great  father.  He  then  branched  off, 
much  like  a  congressman,  into  a  powerful  speech,  in 
tended  to  present  his  own  greatness  as  ^well  as  that  of 
his  people. 

"  His  utterance  was  rapid,  clear,  and  distinct.  Often, 
in  the  excitement  of  his  subject,  particularly  when  re 
ferring  to  the  aggressions  of  his  enemies  —  the  Sioux — 
his  interpreter  had  to  stop  him,  and  have  the  glowing 
passages  repeated.  His  position  at  times  was  very 
commanding.  lie  would  draw  himself  up,  and  fling 
back  his  noble  head,  with  one  foot  advanced,  and  long, 
sinewy  arm  extended,  while  every  muscle  was  strained 
to  its  utmost  tension,  and  his  keen,  piercing  eye  rested 
on  the  agent,  in  almost  exact  imitation  of  Clay  or 
Webster. 

"  He  was  nature's  own  orator,  the  best  among  all  the 


CAMP.       99 

tribes  of  the  North- West.  He  was  frequently  cheered 
by  his  warriors  with  the  characteristic  Indian  Ugh ! 
Ugh  !  and  How !  How  !  reminding  one  of  the  gruff 
Englishman's  Hear  !  Hear  ! 

"  The  Potawatarnie  chiefs  were  invited  to  speak,  and 
did  SQJ  when  the  council  broke  up  with  presents  of 
pipes,  tobacco,  and  pails  of  sweetened  water.  Then 
commenced  a  game  of  ball  by  the  young  men,  while 
others  went  to  their  wigwams  on  the  grassy  slopes  of 
the  river  bank.  Here  the  ceremony  of  giving  presents 
to  their  friends  —  the  Potawatamies  —  took  place.  The 
ceremony  consisted  in  placing  blankets  on  the  ground, 
in  front  of  the  wigwams,  when  a  Potawatamie  brave 
would  step  forward,  set  up  a  stick  four  or  five  feet  long, 
and  place  on  it  a  rag  or  tuft  of  grass,  to  represent  the 
enemy  to  be  killed.  He  would  return  to  the  wigwam, 
and  in  a  few  moments  be  seen  stealthily  approaching 
the  object,  then  spring  with  a  fierce  bound  and  piercing 
yell  on  the  enemy,  and  tomahawk  and  scalp  him,  amid 
the  shouts  of  the  whole  encampment.  He  then  stands 
by  the  blankets,  and  while  he  harangues  the  crowd, 
detailing  the  circumstances  of  the  exploit  just  rep 
resented,  his  friends  make  donations  in  flour,  meal, 
meat,  coffee,  and  blankets,  depositing  all  in  a  pile 
before  him.  This  being  done,  another  goes  through  a 
similar  ceremony,  and  so  on  till  the  entertainment  is 
completed. 

"  Rock  Island  and  its  vicinity  had  been  the  camping- 
ground  of  the  Indians  from  time  immemorial.  Mar- 
quette  and  Joliet  found  a  large  village  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  river,  where  Davenport  now  stands ;  and 
the  tradition  of  the  Indians,  still  extant,  is,  that  tribe 


100  TILE    GENERAL,    OK 

fought  tribe  for  the  possession  of  this  beautiful  land, 
conquering,  and  in  turn  being  conquered.  The  dis 
coverers  of  The  Great  River,  which  they  called  Con 
ception,  reaching  it  on  the  17th  of  June,  1763,  found 
the  tribes  of  the  Illini  here.  The  tradition  of  the  Sacs 
and  Foxes  is,  that  they  came  from  the  Gitche  Gumee 
(Big  Sea  Water) — Lake  Superior;  and  Indians  yet 
living  say  that  the  home  of  their  fath'ers  was  at  Sac 
Creek,  emptying  into  Lake  Superior. 

"The  Sac  and  Fox  Indians  were  originally  two  distinct 
tribes ;  but  war,  pestilence,  and  famine  reduced  them, 
till  they  united  as  one  people,  and  have  become  one 
band.  They  had  possession  of  the  country  at  the  time 
of  its  purchase  by  the  United  States,  and  though  they 
had  been  paid,  and  surrendered  their  titles  on  both 
sides  of  the  Mississippi,  they  lingered  around  the  haunts 
of  their  early  days,  and  at  the  time  of  which  I  now 
speak,  they  were  encamped  on  the  island  and  its  im 
mediate  vicinity.  By  nature  fond  of  case  and  idleness, 
so  much  like  the  pale  faces,  they  hung  around  the 
frontie^  towns,  exchanging  their  few  furs  and  peltries 
for  whiskey,  tobacco,  and  trinkets,  eking  out  a  scanty 
living  and  contracting  the  vices  of  the  whites,  who 
would  buy  their  last  blanket  with  fire-water.  Thus 
situated,  they  would  be  often  embroiled  in  quarrels, 
not  only  with  the  white  man,  but  with  each  other. 

"  On  one  occasion,  soon  after  I  arrived  there,  a  dis 
pute  arose  between  two  young  Indians  in  a  drunken 
frolic,  when  one  struck  the  other  —  an  indignity  that  an 
Indian  seldom  submits  to,  as  it  places  him  in  the  posi 
tion  of  a  dog.  The  matter  remained  until  morning, 
when  both  were  sober.  They  then  repaired  to  a  little 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HTSNTEES'    CAMP.        101 

island  off  the  lower  part  of  Davenport,  armed^one  with  a 
rifle  and  the  other  with  a  shot%unvtp^etjknti^4ij^iltjy;; 
in  an  '  honorable  *  way,  after  the  white  man's  fashion. 
The  friends  of  both  parties  were  present,  but  left  the 
two  to  make  their  own  arrangements.  When  it  was 
determined  that  they  should  shoot  at  each  other,  the 
hero  of  the  shot-gun  marched  off  for  the  agreed  dis 
tance;  but,  before  he  could  turn  and  fire,  he  of  the  rifle 
shot  him  through  the  head,  and  then  fled  like  a  deer. 
He  was  a  Winnebago,  and  lived  on  Rock  River,  at 
Shab-be-na's  Grove.  His  friends  were  in  deep  distress, 
for  they  well  knew  his  doom,  in  accordance  with 
Indian  law. 

"The  relatives  of  the  deceased  clamored  for  blood. 
He  was  sent  for  by  his  friends,  his  own  sister  going 
after  him.  He  was  found  in  his  wigwam,  with  black 
ened  face,  brooding  in  silence  over  his  doom,  well 
knowing  that  the  Great  Spirit  was  angry  with  him, 
and  that  no  sacrifice  w^as  too  great  to  appease  his 
wrath. 

"  He  returned  to  Rock  Island  with  that  sister,  whom 
he  tenderly  loved,  and  who  urged  him,  for  the  honor 
of  his  family  arid  tribe,  to  submit  to  his  fate.  One 
bright  morning  in  June,  about  a  month  after  the  mur 
der,  the  quiet  camp  of  the  Indians  on  the  island  was 
startled  by  the  doleful  chant  of  the  death-song.  A 
few  canoes,  with  a  white  flag  in  the  bows  of  the  fore 
most,  which  was  paddled  by  an  Indian  girl  of  some 
twenty  summers,  came  gliding  around  the  lower  point 
of  the  island.  In  the  forward  part  of  the  canoe, 
wrapped  in  his  blanket,  with  his  face  blackened,  sat  the 
murderer,  singing  his  last  song,  this  side  the  good  hunt 
ing-grounds. 


102  THE   ,GENEKAL,    OR 

arThe  long,  protracted  howl  of  the  wigwam  crier 
'  sGOn  .jpist  "-in,  motion  .the  camps  on  both  sides  of  the 
river.  From  every  nook  and  eddy  along  the  river 
there  soon  shot  forth  canoes  filled  with  excited  savages, 
eager  to  participate  in  the  bloody  scene  at  hand.  Grave 
old  men  were  there,  the  mothers  of  many  a  young 
warrior,  and  maidens  who  had  often  played  on  the 
green  earth  where  they  now  stood.  All  looked  on 
with  stoical  indifference,  while  the  wailing  and  lam 
entation  of  the  culprit's  sister  were  enough  to  pierce 
a  heart  of  stone. 

"  The  prisoner  was  led  up  the  bank  from  the  canoe 
by  his  sister,  bowed  with  grief;  but  no  muscle  of  his 
moved,  nor  any  tear  came  to  his  eye.  He  chanted  his 
death-song  as  he  moved  slowly  to  the  place  of  execu 
tion.  This  was  a  large,  open  green,  with  a  stone  for  his 
seat.  The  spot  was  surrounded  by  hundreds  of  Indians, 
but  no  sound  could  be  heard  as  they  inarched  into  the 
circle,  except  the  smothered  grief  of  the  sister  and 
relatives.  After  being  seated,  his  blanket  was  taken 
from  his  shoulders,  ajid  the  black  wampum  of  Pagunk 
(death)  was  put  into  his  hands  by  one  of  the  '  medicine 
men.' 

"  The  nearest  relative  of  the  murdered  man  then 
approached  from  behind  him,  with  a  tomahawk,  and 
commenced  the  death-song  in  a  dance.  Soon  others 
joined  who  were  next  of  kin,  until  all  the  relatives 
were  in  the  circle,  armed  with  knives  and  tomahawks, 
and  dancing  around  the  prisoner.  This  ceremony  was 
kept  up  for  some  time,  when  other  braves  entered,  and 
the  yell  became  deafening. 

"At  a  given  signal  from  the  first  that  entered,  all 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        103 

sprang  at  the  victim  with  the  most  horrid  outburst  that 
human  voices  could  make,  and  in  a  few  moments  all 
that  was  left  of  the  prisoner  was  a  clotted  mass  of  flesh 
and  blood." 

After  The  General  closed  this  fearful  story  scarcely  a 
word  was  spoken,  and  we  glided  away  silently  to  our 
tents. 


104  THE    GENERAL,    OR 


SIXTH    NIGHT. 

THERE  must  be,  of  course,  a  sameness  in  the 
routine  of  each  day  in  our  camp  life,  and  yet, 
after  all,  a  pleasing  and  often  exciting  variety.  No 
two  meals  are  alike ;  the  weather  is  constantly  chan 
ging  ;  the  parties  are  made  up  differently  every  morn 
ing  for  the  hunt ;  our  success  varies,  and  our  kinds  of 
game.  Now  a  package  of  wild  fowl  is  starting  off  for 
dear  ones  at  home,  with  letters  and  mementoes  safely 
stowed  in ;  and  now  a  backwoods  mail  comes  in  over 
no  post  route  laid  down  here,  or  known  at  Washington. 
Occasionally  a  visitor  is  piloted  to  the  encampment  in 
polished  boots,  broadcloth,  and  pure  white  linen.  We 
are  sorry,  and  so  is  he,  at  the  mistake  in  coming,  and 
there  is  a  mutual  gladness  when  he  goes.  The  man  who 
visits  a  sportsman's  camp,  expecting  a  front  room  on  the 
second  floor,  finger-bowls  at  dinner,  and  a  night  police 
to  keep  the  owls  from  hooting  at  him,  has  mistaken  his 
calling;  at  least,  he  is  not  master  of  the  situation.  Be 
fore  a  man  joins  a  company  of  hunters,  he  should  read 
what  Master  Izaak  Walton  says  of  fishing,  and  think 
the  same  to  be  true  of  hunting:  — 

"Doubt  not,  sir,  but  that  Angling  is  an  art,  and  an 
art  worth  your  learning.  The  question  is  rather, 
whether  you  be  capable  of  learning  it.  For  Angling 
is  somewhat  like  Poetry:  men  are  to  be  born  so." 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        105 

In  his  later  years  Palmerston  was  distinguished  for 
his  expert  use  of  the  horse  and  the  gun  in  field  sports; 
but  this  was  the  crowning  of  his  youthful  habits. 
The  first  in  the  chase,  in  Parliament,  and  in  the  nation 
• —  those  excellences  go  well  together.  Many  have 
wondered  at  the  juvenile  vitality  of  the  old  man.  His 
gun  could  speak  on  that  subject. 

To-day  our  ordinary  list  of  game,  as  we  swing  it  up 
about  the  camp  grounds,  was  varied,  and  graced  by 
two  splendid  swans.  They  cost  the  two  gentlemen 
who  bagged  them  a  night's  bivouac  on  a  marsh,  six 
miles  nway ;  but  that  was  all  right.  They  left  camp 
with  that  expectation  yesterday  morning,  and  shouted 
their  trophies  home  to-night,  as  they  came  gliding  down 
the  lake.  This  is  the  most  intelligent  and  wary,  as 
well  as  most  weighty  and  royal,  of  our  American  water 
fowl.  Flocks  of  them  will  pass  to  and  fro  in  the  clear 
sky,  almost  out  of  sight,  so  high  are  they,  and  peal  out 
their  trumpet  and  bugle  notes  for  miles  in  every  direc 
tion.  When  looking  for  a  night's  rest  and  feeding- 
grounds,  they  come  nearer  and  nearer  to  some  lake  or 
lagoon,  and  circle  up  and  down  and  around  it,  corning 
lower  and  lower  in  the  dusk  of  the  twilight,  till,  assured 
against  danger,  they  plough  into  the  water.  This  is  the 
time  for  the  hunter,  under  cover,  to  take  them  as  they 
sweep  by  on  their  broad  wings.  So  these  two  were 
taken.  They  Avere  pure  white,  excepting  black  bill 
and  legs,  and  a  tinge  of  russet  about  the  head  and 
upper  portion  of  the  neck.  They  were  so  large  that  in 
lifting  them  from  the  ground  I  had  to  raise  their  heads 
above  mine ;  and  their  weight  was  twenty-eight  and 
twenty-nine  pounds  each.  One  of  them  came  on  the 


106  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

table  baked,  but  the  meat  was  dry  and  lacked  flavor. 
This  must  have  been  the  one  that  Audubon  referred  to 
when  he  said,  the  flesh  "of  an  old  bird  is  dry  and 
tough."  The  General  put  his  own  hand  to  some  steaks 
cut  from  the  breast  of  the  other,  and  they  were  excel 
lent.  The  grain  was  coarser  than  the  coarsest  beef, 
and  the  color  a  deeper  red,  and  the  meat  itself  full  as 
juicy. 

When  in  the  water  during  the  day,  they  keep  a  re 
markable  lookout  with  their  long  sentinel  neck,  and  a 
shot  is  impossible,  except  with  a  rifle  at  very  long 
range.  The  tradition  that  one  mourns  itself  to  death, 
if  its  mate  be  killed,  can  hardly  be  true  of  them  in  a 
wild  state ;  for  they  are  gregarious,  and  sometimes  in 
the  early  spring  flocks  of  them  are  so  large  as  to  whiten 
whole  acres  of  flowed  prairie,  or  lagoon. 

When  domesticated  they  may  thus  pine  away  and 
die  of  loneliness ;  and  hence  the  old  English  law,  as 
seen  in  Coke's  Reports,  case  of  swans  :  "  He  who  ste.il- 
eth  a  swan  in  an  open  and  common  river,  lawfully 
marked,  the  same  swan  shall  be  hung  in  a  house  by  the 
beak,  and  he  who  stole  it  shall,  in  recompense  therefor, 
give  to  the  owner  so  much  wheat  as  may  cover  all  the 
swan,  by  putting  and  turning  the  wheat  upon  the  head 
of  the  swan,  until  the  head  of  the  swan  be  covered 
with  wheat." 

There  are  two  varieties  of  the  swan  in  American 
waters,  the  Americanus  and  the  Buccinator,  or  trum 
peter.  The  former  is  the  one  usually  found  on  the 
Atlantic  slope,  and  in  great  quantities  from  the  Chesa 
peake  downward,  sometimes  flocks  of  three  and  even 
five  hundred.  It  is  about  one  fourth  smaller  than  the 


107 

trumpeter.  Going  westward,  the  trumpeter  is  met  in 
the  waters  of  the  Lower  Ohio,  and  so  down  to  the  Gulf, 
west  to  the  Pacific,  and  north  to  the  Arctic.  It  breeds 
mostly  within  the  Arctic,  and  as  the  ice  begins  to  form 
there  in  September,  it  comes  south,  flying,  like  the 
Canada  goose,  in  baseless  triangles,  and  speed  one  half 
greater,  that  is,  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and  more 
miles  an  hour.  When  one  and  two  years  old  it  has  a 
brownish  color,  but  whitens  out  as  it  comes  to  its  full 
growth,  at  the  end  of  five  years.  Then  it  is  our 
noblest  fowl  in  color,  form,  motion,  and  size.  Audu- 
bon  had  one  that  measured  ten  feet  from  tip  to  tip  of 
wings,  and  weighed  thirty-eight  pounds.  A  flock  of 
these  royal  birds,  riding  at  ease,  and  frolicking  out  on 
the  bosom  of  a  lake,  as  they  will  sometimes  for  hours, 
is  an  exciting  scene.  The  sportsman  and  naturalist 
will  enter  fully  into  the  spirit  of  the  remark  of  Audu- 
bon :  "  Imagine,  reader,  that  a  flock  of  fifty  swans  are 
thus  sporting  before  you,  as  they  have  more  than  once 
been  in  my  sight,  and  you  will  feel,  as  I  have  felt,  more 
happy  and  void  of  care  than  I  can  describe." 

I  have  no  means  of  estimating  the  age  to  which  the 
swan  may  attain ;  but  judging  from  the  toughness  of 
the  one  Dock  baked,  I  make  no  doubt  the  fellow  was 
ancient  and  honorable  when  Lewis  and  Clarke  made 
their  exploring  tour  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  1803. 
The  teal  and  mallard,  and  geese  even,  that  we  hung 
up  to-night  beside  those  two  snowy  Arctic  voyageurs, 
looked  diminutive  and  worthless. 

But  with  fowls  as  men,  we  soon  learn  that  height 
and  bulk  are  no  criterion  of  real  worth.  The  tall 
bittern  and  crane  yield  the  palm  of  excellence  at  once, 


108  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

on  the  table,  to  those  of  shorter  legs.  The  children  of 
Anak  were  of  no  account,  and  had  to  give  way  before 
the  short  and  stocky  Jews ;  little  David,  with  his  sling, 
was  too  much  for  Goliath,  and  the  giants  generally 
have  disappeared  as  the  race  of  man  has  improved. 
As  the  gases  and  vapors  were  reduced  in  bulk  to  make 
the  world,  and  as  the  huge  trees  and  animals  of  the 
earth  before  Adam  were  abandoned  for  smaller  and 
more  delicate  and  useful  races,  so  improvements  in 
the  human  race  run  in  the  line  of  diminution,  and 
giants  and  very  tall  men  are  a  cumbersome  wonder 
only.  Quinctilian  places  Thucydides  at  the  head  of 
Greek  historians,  and  speaks  of  him  as  densus  et 
brevis.  Some  apply  these  words  to  his  style,  as  being 
"  terse  and  brief."  Does  not  Quinctilian  mean  to  say 
that  the  leader  in  history  was  a  "  short,  thick-set "  man, 
say  about  five  feet  four  ?  I  hope  no  offence  will  be 
taken  by  my  tall  critics  at  this  implied  suggestion 
about  the  proper  height  for  a  scholar  and  gentleman. 

But  I  must  not  keep  The  General  waiting  for  listen 
ers. 


CAMP.        109 


AMOXG  THE  IXDIAXS. 

"I  spent  the  most  of  the  summer,  1837,  at  Daven 
port,  and  in  exploring  the  country  lately  purchased  of 
the  Indians.  The  surveys  of  the  public  lands  west  of 
the  Mississippi  had  been  commenced,  and  I  was  ready 
to  share  in  the  work.  I  therefore  reported  myself  to 
the  surveyor  general  of  the  north-west,  General  Robert 
Lytle,  at  Cincinnati.  I  received  my  contracts  and 
entered  on  the  work  October  17.  The  tract  I  was  to 
run  out  lay  on  the  Wabessapinecon  River,  then  but 
little  known  or  settled,  and  occupied  by  returned 
bands  of  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians. 

"  There  was  an  abundance  of  game  in  the  field  of  my 
labor ;  but  supplies  of  flour,  meal,  pork,  groceries,  and 
clothing  must  be  obtained  generally  from  Cincinnati. 

"  In  order  to  learn  the  Indian  language  I  employed 
one  or  two  Indians  to  hunt  for  me,  and  supply  our 
camp.  Often  a  family  of  them  would  make  their  wig 
wam  beside  my  tent,  and  move  where  we  moved. 
Being  in  such  constant  intercourse,  I  was  soon  able  to 
talk  with  them  sufficiently  to  carry  on  a  trade  in  game, 
moccasons,  skins,  and  furs  for  the  use  of  our  party. 

"Among  those  who  followed  our  camp  was  an  old 
Sac  chief  by  the  name  of  Nah-me-naske,  who  had  been 
in  the  Black  Hawk  war.  His  great  anxiety  to  talk  and 
tell  his  grievances,  and  the  treachery  of  pretended 
friends,  like  Keokuk,  enabled  me  to  make  good  prog 
ress  in  the  acquisition  of  their  tongue,  and  I  often 


110  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

spent  my  evenings  in  the  tent  of  the  old  chief.  Here  I 
learned  much  of  Indian  character,  their  habits,  and 
mode  of  life.  Nah-me-naske  was  intelligent,  and 
knew  well  the  history  of  his  race.  He  had  ever  been 
a  true  follower  of  131ack  Hawk,  and  felt  most  keenly 
the  injuries  that  had  been  heaped  on  his  people.  His 
mind  was  stored  with  rich  historic  lore,  and  the  legends 
and  traditions  of  his  tribe  were  familiar  to  him.  He 
believed  that  Keokuk  had  been  strongly  influenced  or 
bribed  by  the  whites  in  the  sale  of  the  land,  and  often 
times  he  would  become  so  indignant  and  excited  over 
the  memory  of  their  wrongs,  that  he  would  rise  from 
his  mat  in  a  passion,  seize  his  tomahawk,  and  with  dis 
torted  features  and  eyes  of  bloody  vengeance,  tell  by 
his  looks  and  gestures  how  lie  would  massacre  those 
who  had  destroyed  him  and  his  people. 

"He  censured  the  government,  the  president,  and  the 
settlers  on  his  lands.  He  said  to  me  one  day,  '  Your 
great  chief  paid  but  little  to  the  Indian  for  all  this 
land,  and  now  he  sends  you  to  cut  it  up,  and  sell  a 
little  piece  for  a  great  heap  of  money.' 

"One  day  in  the  early  part  of  the  survey,  and  before 
our  mutual  acquaintance  had  sprung  up,  I  found  the 
stakes  and  mounds  of  my  surveys  destroyed,  my  marks 
on  the  bearing  trees  cut  out,  and  my  lines  so  hacked 
and  mutilated  that  I  had  to  do  the  work  over  again. 
I  charged  Nah-me-nnske  with  the  mischief,  but  he  was 
silent,  neither  confessing  nor  denying  the  act.  I  kind 
ly,  but  firmly,  told  him  of  the  consequences  that  would 
follow  on  the  repetition  of  such  a  thing.  I  assured  him 
that  I  should  send  to  the  fort  for  troops,  and  drive  him 
and  all  his  band  from  the  country  in  the  dead  of  winter. 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        Ill 

I  told  him  that  the  acts  of  Keokuk,  at  which  he  was 
angry,  were  legal,  whether  just  or  not,  an^l  that  the 
land  was  no  more  his ;  that  he  lived  on  it  only  by  per 
mission  of  the  whites,  and  that  I  was  doing  only  what 
I  was  commanded  to  do. 

"  This  seemed  to  pacify  him  for  a  brief  time,  and 
incline  him  to  submit  to  his  lot ;  but  one  could  often 
find  him  in  his  lodge  sullen  and  despondent.  At  such 
times  I  would  retire.  At  other  times  the  old  chief 
would  order  the  bear-skin  mat  to  be  spread  by  his  side 
for  me,  and  when  seated  we  would  enter  into  conversa 
tion  on  all  topics.  He  was  fond  of  hearing  the  news 
of  the  white  people.  Sometimes,  when  brooding  over 
the  past,  or  unsuccessful  in  the  chase,  his  countenance 
would  be  covered  with  gloom  and  sadness.  On  one  of 
these  occasions  he  said  to  me,  — 

"  '  Nah-me-naske  will  soon  go  to  the  good  hunting- 
grounds  of  the  Great  Spirit.  No  treacherous  chief  or 
bad  white  man  will  drive  him  or  his  people  away. 
Gitcke  Manitou  will  be  there,  and  no  Sioux  or  Chip- 
pewa  can  come  into  the  great  lodge.  My  people,  that 
have  been  slain,  will  hunt  unmolested  over  the  green 
prairies,  and  trap  the  beaver  and  the  otter-  among  the 
beautiful  lakes  of  Pagunk.' 

"  The  Indian  has  his  creed.  lie  believes  in  the 
Great  Hereafter,  and  a  heaven  where  all  is  pleasure, 
and  no  enemies  to  molest  him,  and  where  his  feet  are 
never  weary  in  the  pursuit  of  game.  He  believes  in 
and  worships  the  Great  Spirit,  because  he  is  great  and 
good,  and  protects  and  feeds  him.  He  believes  in  an 
Evil  Spirit,  and  makes  a  feast  in  his  honor,  to  appease 
his  wrath  and  keep  him  quiet.  He  believes  in  a  place 


112  THE    GENE  UAL,    OK 

of  punishment,  where  the  bad  Indian  will  suffer  in  a 
deep  place,  into  which  all  their  enemies  are  thrust, 
specially  the  Sioux.  His  acts  of  devotion  are  seldom 
seen,  as  they  consist  of  presents  and  offerings. 

"  Give  to  an  Indian  a  pipe  of  tobacco,  and  watch  him 
closely,  and  you  will  see  him  spill  some  on  the  ground 
and  look  up.  Give  him  meat,  and  his  offering  will  be 
found  on  the  ground  before  him.  In  sickness  the 
prophets,  the  medicine  men  of  the  tribe,  cure  him  by 
driving  away,  with  songs  and  incantations,  the  evil 
spirit  that  has  possessed  him. 

"The  Sacs  and  Foxes  have  never  been  taught  by 
the  missionary.  They  have  to  this  day  refused  to 
receive  him,  or  any  teachers  for  their  children.  Their 
views  of  a  deity,  of  death,  and  the  future  have  been 
handed  down  to  them  from  their  fathers.  It  is  not  till 
they  learn  the  vices  of  the  white  man  that  they  offend 
the  Great  Spirit  by  oaths  and  imprecations.  There  is 
EO  word  in  their  language  by  which  they  can  swear,  and 
none  to  express  contempt  of  God  and  his  attributes. 

"  When  I  first  went  among  them  I  commenced  the 
formation  of  an  English  dictionary  of  their  lansjunffo, 

C3  !/  O         O     ' 

which  assisted  me  much  in  learning  their  tongue,  and 
was  a  vast  aid  to  me  as  long  as  I  had  intercourse  with 
them.  They  were  always  ready  to  tell  me  the  names 
of  things,  and  from  the  deep  interest  I  took  in  their 
language,  history,  and  general  welfare,  I  became  a 
favorite  among  them.  My  tent  was  usually  filled  with 
game,  and  so  I  always  fed  the  Indian  when  lie  entered, 
treated  him  kindly,  never  cheated  him  in  trade,  or  gave 
him  whiskey,  or  allowed  it  in  the  camp. 

"Long  after  their  removal  farther  west,  when  they 


TWELVE    RIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS7    CAMP.        113 

would  visit  their  old  camping-grounds  at  Davenport 
and  Rock  Island,  their  chiefs  and  braves  visited  me  at 
my  residence ;  and  many  are  the  feasts  I  have  given 
them,  since  the  hand  of  civilization  has  covered  up  the 
ashes  of  their  wigwams. 

"On  one  occasion,  when  I  was  on  my  survey,  I  had 
been  in  my  canoe  a  long  distance  up  the  Wabessapin- 
econ,  exploring  for  my  work  in  future,  and  became 
belated  in  my  return,  The  old  chief,  Nah-me-naske, 
was  encamped  beside  my  tent,  on  a  small  creek,  about 
one  mile  from  the  river.  The  river  was  very  crooked, 
and  full  of  snags,  and  when  night  came  on,  I  found 
myself  a  long  distance  from  my  camp.  But  having  no 
blanket,  I  continued  my  route  with  the  light  of  a  pale 
moon,  until  I  thought  myself  nearly  opposite  my  camp. 
I  had,  in  the  dark,  run  on  a  snag,  capsized  the  canoe, 
sent  my  rifle  to  the  bottom,  and  wet  my  matches  as 
well  as  myself.  As  the  water  was  not  deep,  I  re 
covered  my  rifle,  righted  and  baled  the  canoe,  and 
continued  my  journey. 

"  I  had  often  shouted,  and  given  the  usual  Indian 
whoop,  so  common  among  frontier  huntsmen,  but 
gained  rio  answer.  I  landed,  and  hunted  for  a  trail 
that  led  across  a  point  of  prairie  to  my  camp,  but  could 
find  none.  It  was  now  midnight,  and  though  not  severe 
ly  cold,  it  was  a  frosty  November  night.  I  was  tired, 
wet,  and  hungry.  I  shouted  again,  but  no  answer 
came.  It  was  usual,  in  such  cases,  to  discharge  a  gun, 
but  mine  was  wet.  I  could  not  strike  a  fire,  for  my 
matches  were  wet  also.  So  I  put  myself  under  cover 
of  a  log  to  await  daylight. 

"  My  thoughts  naturally  dwelt  on  my  condition.    The 


114  THE    GENERAL,    OK 

hooting  of  the  owl  and  the  prolonged  howling  of  the 
distant  wolf  reminded  me  that  I  was  quite  alone,  and 
far  from  friends ;  but  I  resigned  myself  for  the  night. 
Just  at  this  moment  I  heard  the  rustling  of  leaves,  and 
the  soft  tread  of  a  moccason ;  when,  turning  a  little, 
Nah-me-naske  stood  near  me  in  dim  outline.  'Is 
Chi-he-maske  lost?'  said  he,  as  he  stepped  forward, 
closely  wrapped  in  his  blanket.  'Come  with  me  to 
your  wigwam,  where  you  can  be  warm,  and  eat,  and 
sleep.'  Taking  my  wet  gun  from  the  canoe,  he  led  the 
way  to  the  camp,  which  was  nearly  two  miles  distant. 

"  None  but  the  keen  ear  of  an  Indian  could  have 
heard  my  voice  so  far,  and  none  but  a  true  friend  would 
have  come  to  my  relief  in  that  hour  and  darkness. 
He  knew  of  my  absence,  and  had  probably  been  listen 
ing  for  hours  for  the  accustomed  shout  of  a  bewildered 
man,  well  knowing  that  I  could  not  find  my  camp 
alone. 

"The  Indians  had  named  me  Chi-he-maske,  which 
means  "  strong  and  swift,"  because  I  was  short  and  thick 
set,  and  could  travel  a  great  distance  in  a  day.  This 
was  no  solitary  kindness  of  the  chief.  Often  he  would 
fling  down  at  my  door  a  choice  turkey,  goose,  or  coon, 
for  my  own  special  comfort. 

"  lie  stood  on  his  dignity  and  rank.  He  was  a  chief, 
and  so  was  I,  in  the  service  of  the  Great  Father  at 
Washington,  and  so  we  were  equals.  When  I  ate  with 
him  by  special  invitation  in  his  lodge,  none  others 
were  admitted,  except  chiefs  or  braves,  and  always  the 
choice  pieces  of  the  venison  or  turkey  were  placed  in 
my  bowl.  Salt,  that  is  not  much  used  by  the  Indian, 
was  always  kept  for  the  white  chief,  and  was  never 
forgotten. 


115 

tt  He  taught  me  the  art  of  trapping,  explained  the 
nature  and  habits  of  the  animals  of  the  chase,  and  often 
entered  on  some  of  his  hunting  and  war  stories,  and 
related,  with  much  satisfaction,  his  expeditions  against 
the  Sioux,  his  mortal  enemies.  He  had  heard  of  the 
great  wigwams  of  the  white  man  towards  the  rising 
sun,  and  of  their  power  and  strength.  lie  inquired  of 
me,  with  great  interest,  about  the  white  man's  Scuti- 
Nah-ga-tuck-e-sock,  or  fire-horse,  that  could  outrun  the 
antelope,  with  a  hundred  men  on  his  back.  I  had  to 
make  a  drawing  of  it,  in  charcoal,  on  the  bark  in  his 
wigwam;  but  I  could  never  satisfy  him  of  the  principle 
on  which  it  was  propelled,  or  of  the  rail  on  which  it 
ran.  He  said  the  white  man  was  very  foolish  to  work 
hard  all  his  life,  and  build  such  large  wigwams,  with  so 
many  rooms  in  them;  and  when  he  made  a  fire,  to 
make  it  so  big  that  no  one  could  get  near  it  to  warm 
himself. 

"During  the  whole  winter  the  Indians  were  con 
stantly  at  the  camp,  and  always  had  freedom  in  and 
about  the  premises;  but  nothing  was  stolen.  They 
were  incessant  beggars,  but  easily  put  off,  when  told 
they  did  not  need  the  thing,  or  could  not  have  it.  The 
Indians  never  steal  from  white  friends,  or  from  one 
another,  in  friendly  tribes. 

"The  whole  winter  of  1837-8  we  spent  on  this  sur 
vey,  living  in  a  canvas  tent,  and  losing  but  three  days 
on  account  of  rough  weather.  We  returned  to  Daven 
port  on  the  1st  of  April,  having  been  absent  about  five 
months  and  a  half.  During  all  this  time  I  had  not 
slept  in  a  house,  or  seen  scarcely  a  white  man,  except 
those  of  my  company. 


116  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

"  Having  arranged  for  the  building  of  a  dwelling- 
house  in  a  little  village  a  few  miles  from  Davenport,  I 
left  for  home,  by  the  way  of  St.  Louis  and  Cincinnati. 
At  the  latter  place  I  was  detained  six  weeks  in  making 
returns  of  my  surveys  and  collections  for  the  work  at 
the  office  of  the  surveyor  general.  I  then  ascended 
the  Ohio  to  Wheeling,  and  thence  by  stage  to  Wash 
ington,  where  I  spent  a  few  days  in  business  at  the 
Land  Office,  and  so  on  to  New  Jersey,  having  been 
absent  from  my  family  more  than  a  year  and  a  half. 

"  In  June  following  I  bade  adieu  to  New  Jersey, 
and,  with  my  wife  and  two  daughters,  started  back  for 
Wisconsin  Territory,  then  the  extreme  border  of  the 
Far  West.  We  took  the  route  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Canal  to  Pittsburg,  down  the  Ohio  to  Cairo,  and  thence 
up  the  Mississippi  to  Davenport,  being  four  weeks  on 
the  journey,  and  leaving  Swan  Lake  on  the  right ! 

"  It  is  now  little  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
since  I  saw  the  land  of  my  adoption.  Since  that  time, 
mighty  changes  have  come  over  the  scene.  The  wil 
derness  has  become  a  garden,  and  barbarism  has  given 
place  to  civilization.  The  long  and  tedious  journey  of 
four  weeks  has  been  reduced  to  less  than  three  days. 
The  Indian,  who  lurked  around  the  cabin  settlement, 
has  gone  on  the  red  man's  path,  towards  the  setting 
sun ;  the  place  of  his  wigwam  is  covered  with  the  hab 
itations  of  the  pale  faces,  and  the  play-grounds  of  his 
children  have  become  the  fields  and  gardens  of  civ 
ilization.  The  home  of  his  fathers,  and  the  sacred 
resting-places  of  his  dead  have  been  given  up  to  the 
ploughshare.  The  canoe  that  once  iloated  in  pride 
and  glory  on  The  Father  of  Waters  is  gone,  like  a 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        117 

shadow  by  the  wigwam,  and  the  Scuti-Chemon  —  the 
Fire  Canoe  of  the  white  man  —  troubles  the  great  river 
day  and  night.  Assihe-me-nass  (Rock  Island),  the 
scene  of  so  many  councils  and  conflicts  of  mighty  chief 
tains,  and  the  home  of  all  that  was  great  and  good  in 
Indian  life,  will  become  the  armory  and  arsenal  of  the 
weapons  of  war  for  the  white  man ;  and  the  tattoo  of 
the  soldier  will  take  the  place  of  the  merry  song  and 
the  war-cry  of  the  savage.  The  green  prairies,  over 
which  he  once  roamed,  chasing  the  deer  and  the  elk, 
are  now  grain  fields,  and  the  fur  trade  of  trapper  and 
trader  has  given  place  to  the  broad  commerce  of  a 
nation. 

"A  few  wandering  tribes  are  followed  by  a  popula 
tion  of  more  than  four  millions ;  and  the  smoke  from 
their  thousands  of  cities  and  towns  and  cabins,  from 
river  side  and  prairie  and  timber,  all  through  the 
North-west,  goes  up  like  incense  from  the  altars  of  a 
great  and  happy  people.  The  mighty  river,  where 
once  danced  only  the  light  canoe,  now  bears  up  a  trade 
greater  than  ever  was  tributary  to  imperial  Rome.  So 
empire  moves  westward. 

"  The  Indian  now  lingers  on  the  frontier.  He  must 
mourn  over  the  graves  of  his  ancestors,  and  bid  fare 
well  to  his  early  home ;  for  he  is  the  child  of  destiny. 
The  finger  of  Fate  points  with  unerring  certainty  to  his 
future.  His  march  is  onward,  onward,  over  the  mighty 
midland  barriers  of  a  continent,  till  his  weary  mocca- 
son  leave  its  prints  on  the  sands  of  the  Pacific,  there 
soon  to  be  washed  out  and  forgotten ! " 

Sadness  and  gloom,  as  of  a  funeral,  hung  over  us  as 


118  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

The  General  closed  his  narrative  for  the  night.  He 
spoke  with  the  deep  feeling  and  sorrow  of  one  who 
mourned  for  friends,  and  would  embalm  their  memory. 
You  should  have  seen  our  camp  fire  group  after  he  had 
done  speaking.  No  one  said  a  word;  no  one  moved. 
We  watched  the  curling  smoke  raid  the  light  flashing 
up  among  the  old  trees  over  us;  we  looked  out  into 
the  deep  and  silent  outline  of  dark  forest,  as  if  the 
red  men  or  their  ghosts  were  'Stealing  on  us.  Some 
of  the  company  felt  peculiarly  what  had  been  said  of 
the  fading  out  of  the  race.  There  was  one  man,  past 
middle  life,  who,  a  boy  clerk  in  the  trading-house  of  his 
father  on  Sturgeon  Bay  just  below  us,  knew  these 
tribes,  and  their  pursuits  and  habits,  and  had  pur 
chased  their  furs,  and  peltries,  and  feathers ;  had  been 
in  their  canoes  on  these  waters,  and  had  seen  them  dis 
appear.  Here  was  another  who  had  lived  and  trafficked 
in  the  foremost  ranks  of  their  emigration  as  they  had 
gone  westward,  before  the  white  man,  into  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  beyond. 

A  little  chit-chat  sprang  up  finally ;  then  we  wrapped 
our  blankets  about  us,  and,  like  true  white  men,  we 
soon  forgot  "  the  poor  Indian." 


CAMP.        119 


SEVENTH  NIGHT. 

"  There  is  a  pleasure  in  the  pathless  woods, 
There  is  a  rapture  on  the  lonely  shore." 

I  FOUND  it  so  to-day,  as  with  little  lulus  I  strolled 
off  through  the  heavy  timber  lands  two  miles  to 
the  thickly-wooded  bank  of  the  Mississippi.  Primitive 
forest  this  is,  dark  with  the  trees  of  centuries ;  some 
of  them  strong  in  their  prime,  with  branches  far  aloft, 
that  would  be  counted  huge  trees  elsewhere,  and  others 
old  and  decaying,  with  limbs  rent  away,  and  only  naked 
trunks  left  standing.  The  ground  is  marked  by  many 
prostrate  trees  of  immense  dimensions,  lying  where  old 
age  or  the  last  tornado  left  them;  some  of  them  only  a 
long  ridge  of  vegetable  mould  in  their  decay,  and  oth 
ers  fresh  and  solid,  the  victims  of  a  late  gale.  You 
may  as  well  flank  them  at  once,  for  to  go  over  logs  of 
such  diameter,  four,  five,  and  sometimes  sixfeet,  is  out 
of  the  question. 

This  bottom  land  is  subject  to  an  annual  overflow, 
and  so  it  is  kept  quite  clear  of  undergrowth,  and  you 
get  distant  views  through  long  vistas  of  the  tall,  smooth 
trees.  Here  one  feels  alone,  and  there  is  a  charm  in 
the  solitude.  No  evidences  lie  about  you  that  man  has 
ever  been  here,  and  you  reflect  that  yours  is  the  only 
human  foot  that  has  trodden  this  silent  forest  for 


120  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

months,  possibly  years.  The  game  is  less  abundant 
than  on  the  margin  of  the  forests  and  around  the  lakes, 
but  the  vastum  ulique  silent  turn  makes  ample  amends. 

The  gifted  and  lamented  Choate,  in  whose  death  the 
Academy  and  the  Forum  lost  what  it  rarely  possesses 
to  lose,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Mrs.  Eames,  written  in 
a  little  nook  of  rural  seclusion,  has  this  passage  :  ':  You 
see  Boston  through  the  trees,  and  hear  now  and  then 
the  whistle  of  invisible  cars;  otherwise  you  might 
fancy  yourself  fifty  thousand  globes  from  cities  or 
steam.  These  are  the  places  and  moments  for  that 
discourse  in  which  is  so  much  more  of  our  happiness 
than  in  actualities  of  duty,  or  even  in  hope." 

If  the  shade  of  one  little  artificial  cluster  of  trees, 
and  that  in  sight  of  Boston,  could  give  him  such  seclu 
sion  and  sense  of  distance  from  man,  and  such  increase 
of  happiness,  what  would  be  his  solitude  and  joy  in 
this  wild  haunt  of  nature  ?  He  would  need  the  latest 
editions  of  both  the  rival  dictionaries  to  express  his 
emotions;  and  his  "fifty  thousand  globes"  would  be 
only  a  range  of  hillocks  for  the  measuring  line  of  his 
prolific  fancy. 

As  we  wandered  about,  I  said  to  lulus,  "Why  not 
go  over  to  the  Mississippi,  and  have  a  dinner  on  its 
banks?"  So, guided  by  a  pocket  compass,  we  made  for 
the  river,  bagging  three  or  four  fox  squirrels  as  we  went 
along.  We  struck  the  bank  on  a  little  swell  of  land, 
and  above,  below,  and  in  front  our  king  of  rivers  was 
working  his  way  to  the  Gulf.  Here  and  there  it  lin 
gered  around  sand-bars,  covered  to  blackness  with  wild 
geese;  and  in  the  coves  fleets  of  ducks  were  riding  at 
anchor.  The  haze  of  an  October  sky  hung  over  the 


121 


water,  dropping  a  dimness  on  the  islands,  and  a  veil 
on  the  opposite  shore.  A  poet,  or  painter,  or  natural 
ist,  any  lover  of  the  beautiful  in  out-doors,  would  have 
been  enchanted  with  the  scene.  It  was  wild,  vast, 
grand,  primitive.  Talk  of  dining-halls  at  splendid 
hotels;  the  late  congress  of  kings  had  not  its  equal 
to  the  one  where  our  table  was  spread.  But  perhaps 
you  never  ate  an  extempore  forest  dinner.  Poor  man, 
you  have  our  compassion !  See  how  we  do  it. 

Drift  wood  from  St.  Anthony,  left  by  a  high-water 
eddy,  is  dry  and  waiting  for  our  match.  We  lay  it 
sparingly  —  for  it  is  a  warm  day  — beside  the  dead  log, 
and  start  the  fire.  Now,  out  on  one  of  those  sanded, 
romantic  little  bars,  we  dress  our  game,  water  enough, 
and  of  the  purest.  Back  again,  and  there  is  a  good 
bed  of  coals.  Three  small  switches,  four  feet  each, 
with  a  crotch  in  the  end  of  each,  set  in  the  ground  at 
an  angle  of  forty  degrees  over  the  coals,  with  a  fat  and 
well-washed  squirrel  on  each  crotch ;  a  half-dozen  bis 
cuit  halved  and  buttered,  and  now  toasting;  a  salt- 
box  and  a  pepper-box  well  shaken  over  the  broiling 
quarry  —  boxes  as  much  a  fixture  to  my  hunting-coat 
as  the  pockets  —  is  not  the  prospect  good  for  a  dinner? 
You  turn  the  switches  a  few  times  in  the  ground,  and 
how  the  juices  of  the  meat  flash  up  from  the  coals  t 
You  gash  the  ham  or  shoulder  to  test  the  cooking,  and 
"  the  gravy  from  the  dish,"  flowing  out  of  the  cut,  red  and 
appetizing,  shows  you  that  the  time  has  come.  Now  sot 
the  switches  bearing  their  smoking  loads  perpendicular 

O  O  1          X 

in  the  ground  in  front  of  a  log,  and  seat  yourself  on 
the  same.  Your  hunter's  knife  separates  into  knife  and 
fork,  and  you  proceed  to  carve  and  eat.  Your  little 


122  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

Ganymede,  who  was  lulus,  brings  your  hunter's  cup  full 
of  the  best  of  water,  direct  from  Lake  Itasca,  Did  you 
ever  enjoy  a  dinner  more  ?  Look  on  the  walls  of  your 
dining-hall,  the  paintings  are  true  to  nature.  Look  out  of 
the  Gothic  windows,  and  admire  the  landscape  views, 
river,  forest,  islands  —  now  as  steamer  shooting  between 
two  —  and  the  whole  canopied  by  one  of  the  softest  Oc 
tober  skies.  An  apple  or  two  from  the  garne-bag  for 
dessert,  and  then  you  pick  your  teeth  as  complacently 
as  if  standing  on  the  steps  of  the  Astor  just  after 
dinner. 

So  we  dined  that  day  in  the  oldest  human  hotel  — 
the  First  Adam's  House  —  and  it  was  a  table  to  be  re 
membered.  Such  a  dinner  is  worth  ten  dollars  a  plate 
to  an  over-worked,  jaded  business  man.  An  incident  im 
pressed  the  memory  of  it  for  a  long  time  on  my  —  right 
shoulder.  In  the  warmth  of  the  day  and  service  I  had 
thrown  off  my  coat,  and  while  doing  thus  the  honors 
of  our  dining-hall,  a  flock  of  geese  came  flying  most 
directly -and  impertinently  over  our  very  table,  just 
scaling  the  tree-tops.  It  was  the  work  of  haste  and  a 
moment,  and,  with  my  gun  at  a  perpendicular,  and 
loose  about  the  shoulder,  I  fired.  One  goose  at  least 
was  winged,  but  at  the  wrong  end  of  the  gun,  and  I 
carried  a  lame  arm  for  weeks. 

This  was  a  favorite  ramble  with  me  afterwards,  and  I 
often  took  it  alone,  not  so  much  for  the  game  as  for  the 
wild,  solitary  nature  of  the  route. 

A  single  settler  lived  in  this  belt  of  timber  between 
our  camp  and  the  river.  His  cabin  seemed  carelessly 
thrown  in  there,  where  there  was  no  remotest  evi 
dence  of  a  clearing.  The  only  sign  of  breaking  ground 


CAMP.        123 

was  where  he  had^dug  a  slough  well,  that  is,  a  hole  in 
a  dry  slough,  with  clay  steps  cut  down  to  the  puddle 
of  muddy  water  at  the  bottom,  where  frogs,  and  leaves, 
and  crickets,  and  all  other  little  things,  creeping,  jump 
ing,  or  flying,  could  be  dipped  up.  dead  or  alive.  I  had 
a  curiosity  to  see  the  inside  of  his  log  shanty,  and  so 
called  one  day,  and  asked  for  a  drink  of  water.  The 
man  of  the  house  invited  me  in,  and  sent  a  girl  to  the 
well.  The  cabin  had  one  room,  like  a  hen-coop  ;  the 
ground  was  the  floor ;  in  one  corner  a  stove  ;  one  chair, 
without  a  back,  which  he  gave  me  ;  a  board  against  the 
rough  logs  of  the  wall  was  the  table  ;  a  pile  of  bedding 
lay  pitched  into  one  corner,  being  an  old  feather  bed, 
and  two  or  three  tattered  and  dingy  spreads.  On  this 
pile  lounged  his  wife  and  a  daughter  of  fifteen,  while  a 
squad  of  smaller  children  crawled  about,  through,  and 
over  the  heap  —  I  cannot  tell  how  many.  On  a  shelf 
lay  a  long,  thin  strip  of  smoked  middlings,  the  end 
hanging  over,  and,  as  it  showed,  within  convenient 
reach  of  a  knife.  Pieces  of  corn  bread  and  this  mis 
erable  pork  were  the  only  signs  of  food.  Two  or  three 
old  plates  and  broken  tea-cups,  not  "  wisely  kept  for 
show,"  were  all  the  table  furniture  in  sight,  and  nothing 
was  covered  up  in  that  house  unless  it  was  under  the 
bedding.  The  cabin  had  not  a  cupboard,  box,  chest, 
or  trunk  in  it.  The  girl  came  with  the  water,  bare 
headed,  barefoot,  and  otherwise  and  generally  almost 
so.  One  of  the  broken  tea-cups  came  in  use  ;  I  put  it 
to  my  lips,  drank  all  I  wished,  and  left.  The  man  of 
the  house,  who  stood  all  the  while  I  was  there  (I  had 
his  chair)  with  his  hands  thrust  into  ragged  breeches, 
and  the  smoke  of  a  stub  pipe  curling  up  under  a 


124  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

slouched  hat,  followed  me  to  the  door,  examined 
my  fowling-piece  with  great  interest,  asked  whether 
"  she  "  was  good,  and  bade  me  good  by.  Yet  this  fam 
ily  was  cheerful  and  contented,  and  did  not  seem  to 
know  but  that  it  was  well  off. 

Our  tents  looked  more  inviting  than  ever  as  we 
rounded  the  shore  and  went  in  at  sunset.  Supper  came 
earlier,  as  we  all  were  in  sooner,  and  so  The  General 
made  an  earlier  beginning. 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        125 


FOUNDATIONS  OF  IOWA. 

"In  1839  I  was  employed  in  the  survey  of  the  pub 
lic  lands  in  Iowa,  on  what  was  called  The  Black  Hawk 
Purchase.  This  new  acquisition  was  then  being  settled 
up  with  great  rapidity. 

"In  1840  I  undertook  for  government  the  survey  of 
the  islands  in  the  Mississippi,  between  the  mouth  of 
Rock  River  and  Quincy.  It  was  a  work  of  great  diffi 
culty  and  hardship.  These  islands  had  been  surveyed 
several  times  by  other  parties,  but  their  work  was  so 
incorrect  that  the  government  rejected  it.  Mine  was 
the  last  one  made.  It  was  commenced  early  in  the 
spring,  amid  floating  ice  and  high  water,  and  in  rough 
weather.  It  was  necessary  to  extend  the  section  lines 
from  the  main  land  to  the  islands,  and  then  meander 
the  islands.  Of  course  the  party  were  compelled  to  be 
much  in  the  water,  and,  as  a  consequence,  there  was 
much  sickness  among  them,  as  well  as  delay  in  the 
work.  But  I  completed  it  that  season,  and  in  a  man 
ner  satisfactory  to  the  government. 

"Falling  readily  into  the  custom  of  frontier  men,  I 
joined  a  party  of  seven,  in  the  fall  of  this  year,  to  go  on 
a  hunting  expedition  into  the  Indian  country.  The 
outfit  consisted  of  horse  and  ox  teams,  with  tents, 
blankets,  provision,  and,  in  this  case,  with  barrels,  as 
we  intended  to  take  wild  honey.  It  was  not  usual  for 
hunters  to  go  fur  beyond  the  settlements  at  that  early 
day ;  but  our  company  was  made  up  of  men  not  only 


126  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

fond  of  the  chase,  but  anxious  to  explore  a  region  so 
much  talked  of,  and  not  unwilling  to  have  exciting  ad 
ventures. 

"  The  company  set  forth  about  the  first  of  September, 
and,  following  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  Cedar 
and  Wabessapinecon  Rivers,  were  some  seven  days  in 
reaching  the  grounds  on  which  they  intended  to  hunt, 
a  tract  between  the  head-waters  of  these  two  rivers. 

"The  constant  broils  between  the  Sacs  and  Foxes 
and  the  Sioux,  whose  lands  adjoined,  induced  the  gov 
ernment  in  1828  to  cut  off  a  strip  of  land  twenty  miles 
wide  on  each  side  of  the  dividing  line  between  the 
tribes,  making  forty  miles  of  territory  in  width,  running 
from  the  Mississippi  River  above  Prairie  du  Chien,  to 
the  Des  Moines,  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles.  This  strip  of  land  neither  party  could  use 
for  hunting  purposes,  and  was  called  The  Neutral 
Grounds. 

"  When  the  Winnebagoes  sold  their  lands  in  Wis 
consin,  they  wrere  removed  to  these  Neutral  Grounds, 
being  at  peace  with  the  Indians  on  both  sides.  The 
Winnebagoes  were  in  possession  of  these  lands  at  the 
time  our  party  went  on  this  hunt. 

"When  we  arrived  near  the  boundary  line  of  the 
Indians,  we  encamped,  and  for  many  days  enjoyed  the 
sports  of  the  chase,  and  took  some  honey.  Here  we 
waited  till  the  Indians  should  start  on  their  journey  to 
Prairie  du  Chien  to  receive  their  annuity  from  govern 
ment,  which  we  knew  was  to  be  paid  about  this  time. 
We  also  knew  that  their  absence  was  the  only  time 
when  \ve  could  hunt  and  gather  honey  on  these  Neu 
tral  Grounds  with  any  safety. 


127 

"  We  were  accordingly  ready  to  remove  to  the  scene 
of  operations  as  soon  as  the  Indians  left.  We  did  so 
at  the  earliest  opportunity,  and  camped  on  what  we 
called  Honey  Creek,  a  small  stream  within  the  Neutral 
Grounds.  Not  far  from  the  camp  was  a  white  oak 
grove,  on  a  rise  of  land.  The  trees  were  large  and 
old,  and  many  of  them  hollow,  and  on  a  half  mile 
square  of  this  grove  we  found  sixteen  bee  trees. 
Other  game  was  plenty,  and  we  enjoyed  ourselves  dur 
ing  one  of  those  delightful  Indian  summers,  so  much 
admired  in  the  West. 

"  We  felt  secure  so  long  as  the  Winnebagoes  were 
away.  We  had  no  right  on  their  lands  without  their 
permission,  or  that  of  the  Indian  agent;  and  when 
whites  were  caught  hunting  or  fishing  there,  their 
property  was  considered  by  the  Indians  as  lawful 
prize. 

"We  had  completed  our  hunt,  having  strained  the 
honey  and  put  it  in  casks,  jerked  the  meat,  and  got  it 
ready  to  pack,  and  prepared  everything  for  a  home 
ward  move,  except  the  trying  out  of  a  large  quantity 
of  beeswax.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  some 
of  the  party,  who  had  been  out  hunting,  came  into 
camp  and  reported  Indians  in  the  vicinity.  Scouts 
being  sent  out,  several  were  seen,  and  one  even  came 
into  camp,  and  viewed  the  rich  store  of  meat  and 
honey  that  we  had  taken.  He  was  grave  and  severe, 
and  refused  food,  which  fact  we  all  understood  pain 
fully  well.  He  left,  and  we  sent  a  spy  to  watch  him. 
When  some  distance  from  camp,  he  put  spurs  to  his 
horse,  and  went  at  full  speed  across  the  prairie. 

"It  was  now  well  understood  that  the  Indians  had 


128  THE    GENERAL,    OH 

returned  from  the  agency,  and  that  we  might  expect  s 
visit  from  them  about  daylight  the  next  morning,  the 
time  when  all  tribes  are  wont  to  open  their  attacks  on 
an  enemy.  The  hunting  party  put  their  arms  in  order, 
and  determined  on  defence,  if  the  enemy  should  not 
prove  to  be  too  numerous.  All  hands  were  now  en 
gaged  in  packing  and  loading  the  wagons  preparatory 
to  a  retreat.  The  barrels  of  honey  were  loaded  in,  the 
oxen  and  horses  gathered  and  tied  near  by  in  the  bush, 
for  fear  that  the  intentions  of  the  party  to  depart  might 
be  discovered  by  some  Indian  spy.  The  company  had 
taken  eight  barrels  of  strained  honey,  besides  much  elk 
and  deer  meat. 

"Waiting  for  the  rising  of  the  moon,  and  then  build 
ing  a  large  camp  fire,  we  hitched  up  our  teams,  and 
placing  a  rear  guard  and  pilot,  we  started  for  home. 
After  much  trouble  and  a  few  miles'  travel,  we  struck 
the  trail  where  we  entered,  and  about  daylight  we 
passed  safely  the  boundary  line.  About  the  same  time, 
probably,  the  Indians  were  visiting  our  old  camping- 
ground  to  rob  us  of  our  booty.  These  same  Indians 
had  robbed  trappers  and  explorers  the  fall  preceding, 
and  they  were  disposed,  on  all  safe  occasions,  to  appro 
priate  the  effects  of  the  white  man  to  their  own  use. 
But  they  gave  us  no  difficulty,  and  we  arrived  home  in 
safety,  and  well  laden  with  game  and  honey. 

"In  1841-2,  the  public  surveys  being  suspended,  I 
turned  my  attention  to  a  more  full  exploration  of  the 
territory  that  had  been  cut  off  from  Wisconsin,  and 
called  Iowa,  At  this  time  there  had  not  been  any 
maps  or  sketches  of  the  country  lying  north  of  the 
State  of  Missouri,  and  between  the  Mississippi  and 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        129 

Missouri  Rivers.  Major  Lee,  of  the  United  States 
army,  had  made  a  tour,  with  dragoons,  up  the  Des 
Moines,  and  Nicholat  had  traversed  the  north-west  on 
both  sides  of  the  Mississippi,  by  order  of  Congress, 
and  made  some  outlines  and  topography  of  the  coun 
try.  But  there  was  nothing  reliable,  or  what  could 
give  one  a  tolerable  idea  of  the  region  between  the 
two  rivers.  The  vague  and  romantic  story  of  the 
trapper  was  all  that  the  people  of  the  frontier  knew  of 
the  region. 

"^•These  wild  adventurers  gave  the  most  glowing 
accounts  of  its  beautiful  groves  of  timber,  its  swift- 
flowing  rivers,  and  its  broad-rolling  prairies,  its  glassy 
lakes,  with  pebbled  shores,  and  abundance  of  fish,  and 
its  immense  herds  of  buifalo,  elk,  and  deer,  that  roamed 
at  will  over  the  delightful  wilds.  But  they  could  give 
no  great  landmarks,  or  inland  seas,  by  which  the  travel 
ler  could  direct  his  course. 

"At  the  instance  of  Governor  Chambers,  of  the  then 
new  Territory  of  Iowa,  and  the  solicitation  of  the  sur 
veyor  general  of  the  North-west,  I  undertook  the  ex 
ploration  of  the  territory,  and  at  ray  own  charges. 
With  two  men  and  a  proper  outfit,  I  set  forth,  in  the 
autumn  of  1841,  to  sketch  the  country  and  make  .a 
map  of  the  same,  as  far  north  as  the  forty-third  degree, 
the  present  southern  boundary  of  Minnesota.  In  this 
work  I  was  engaged  a  portion  of  the  time  for  three 
years,  making  annual  excursions,  tracing  the  rivers  to 
their  sources,  and  marking  the  timber  lands,  living  the 
while  mostly  on  game. 

"  The  Indian  title  at  this  time  was  extinguished  to 
only  a  small  part  lying  along  the  Mississippi  River. 
9 


130  THE    GENERAL,    OK 

The  rest  was  inhabited  by  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  the 
Potawatamies,  and  the  Winnebagoes.  In  ray  first  trip 
I  followed  up  the  ridge  between  the  Cedar  and  the 
Wabessapinecon  Rivers  to  the  boundary  line  of  the 
Neutral  Grounds,  on  which  the  Winnebagoes  resided. 
Here  I  established  my  headquarters  for  the  winter,  and 
built  a  depot  for  my  supplies.  It  was  located  on  a 
small  creek,  in  a  deep  and  densely-wooded  glen,  a  few 
miles  from  the  Wabessapinecon,  and  just  within,  the 
line  between  the  Indians  and  the  whites.  This  was 
about  the  first  of  September,  and  the  chief  of  the  band 
who  lived  on  this  portion  of  the  Neutral  Grounds,  and 
whose  village  was  only  about  six  miles  away,  had  gone 
with  the  most  of  his  braves  and  great  men  to  Prairie  du 
Chien.  No  communication,  therefore,  could  be  had 
with  him  till  his  return,  which  would  be  a  month  or 
more.  Portions  of  his  people  were  encamped  near  by, 
on  their  fall  hunt,  and  came  often  to  my  camp.  In  this 
band  were  some  young  men  and  boys  who  had  attend 
ed  the  Mission  School  at  Fort  Atkinson,  on  Turkey 
River,  established  and  maintained. by  the  government. 

"  It  is  a  characteristic  of  the  Indian  never  to  speak 
English,  even  if  he  can,  unless  sheer  necessity  compels 
him,  or  when  he  is  sure  his  people  will  not  know  it. 
It  is  considered  a  kind  of  disgrace,  as  if  he  were  tinc 
tured  with  civilization,  and  were  apostatizing  from  the 
dignity  of  his  fathers,  and  becoming  a  white  man. 

"  I  had  learned  some  Winnebago  words  from  the 
Sacs  and  Foxes,  some  of  whom  spoke  it,  though  the 
two  languages  are  quite  unlike.  As  I  could  not  pro 
ceed  across  the  Indian  country  till  Chas-chun-ka  (Big 
Wave)  returned,  I  set  my  men  to  hunting  and  storing 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.         131 

away  provisions  for  the  winter,  while  I  attempted  to 
gain  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  language  to  enable 
me  to  travel  intelligently  among  them.  It  was  always 
necessary  for  one  to  remain  in  camp  to  prevent  Indian 
depredations,  and  to  keep  the  horses  from  straying. 
This  duty  I  now  took  on  myself,  and  encouraged  the 
Indian  Jboys,  who  frequently  visited  the  camp,  to  be 
familiar,  giving  them  presents  of  red  cloth  and  ribbons, 
bread  and  pork,  of  which  they  are  very  fond,  and  other 
trifles  of  civilization. 

"  They  soon  became  familiar,  answering  promptly  the 
questions  I  put  them,  as  to  the  names  of  things.  One 
day,  what  were  my  surprise  and  delight,  when  I  inquired 
of  a  sprightly  lad,  about  twelve  years  of  age,  and  who 
had  come  into  the  cabin  alone,  what  he  called  the 
victuals  that  were  then  cooking  in  the  kettle,  to  hear  him 
answer  in  plain,  unbroken  English,  '  Why,  it  is  pork 
and  beans,  and  I  shall  want  some  bread  and  potatoes 
to  eat  with  them  when  they  are  done.'  His  dark, 
keen  eye  twinkled  with  the  answer,  and  he  burst  into 
a  fit  of  laughter,  half  hiding  his  face  through  shame 
that  he  knew  so  much  of  the  white  man's  language. 

"  He  saw  my  delight  at  discovering  his  knowledge, 
and  yielded  freely  to  the  questions,  where,  and  how, 
and  when  he  obtained  the  English  so  perfectly.  He 
had.  been  a  pupil  in  the  Mission  School  of  the  Rev. 
David  Lowry  for  five  or  six  years,  and  could  read  as 
well  as  speak  English  quite  fluently.  When  I  applied 
to  him  to  teach  me,  nothing  could  exceed  his  unwilling- 

'  *r>  o 

ness,  even  to  interpret.  But  my  close  familiarity  and 
gentleness,  and  presents  for  himself  and  mother,  whose 
lodge  was  about  a  mile  distant,  won  him  over,  and  ho 


132  THE    GEXEKAL,   OR 

proved  of  great  value,  not  only  in  teaching  me,  but  in 
shielding  me  from  dangers  afterwards. 

"  The  return  of  Chas-chun-ka,  about  the  first  of  No 
vember,  was  speedily  heralded  through  the  Indian 
camps,  and  I  was  notified  by  my  friendly  and  faithful 
little  mission  boy,  who,  by  this  time,  knew  all  my  de 
sires  and  plans. 

"  The  chief  was,  like  the  most  of  his  race,  vain  and  con 
ceited,  puffed  up  with  self-importance,  but  susceptible 
of  flattery,  and  fond  of  presents.  He  was  not  an  heredi 
tary  chief,  but  a  Fox  by  birth,  and  having  joined  the 
Winnebagoes  at  an  early  age,  he  had  risen  to  his  pres 
ent  position  by  the  force  of  native  talent.  He  was 
worth  some  property  in  horses  and  presents,  given  him 
by  the  agents  and  officers  of  the  government.  He  had 
two  wives,  and  was  about  to  take  a  third ;  but  as  the 
winter  was  near,  and  provisions  scarce,  he  had  conclud 
ed  to  wait  till  spring. 

"  He  was  duly  notified  of  my  presence  in  the  coun 
try,  and  my  wish  to  hold  a  conference  with  him  at  my 
tent  whenever  his  chieftainship  would  please  to  signify 
his  willingness.  Early  one  morning,  a  few  days  after 
his  return,  a  cavalcade  was  seen  coming  across  the 
prairie  towards  my  camp.  In  due  time,  and  in  long 
Indian  file,  they  drew  up  around  my  cabin.  I  remained 
inside  to  receive  the  distinguished  guests,  while  his 
officials  motioned  to  the  Indians,  as  they  dismounted, 
to  enter  the  council. 

"  There  were  twelve  or  mere  under-chiefs  and  braves 
who  accompanied  Chas-chun-ka.  He  entered  first, 
bowing  and  shaking  hands  with  me.  This  salutation 
was  repeated  by  the  whole  troop.  They  then  seated 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        133 

themselves  around  the  cabin,  on  the  ground,  but  their 
chief  on  a  bench.  The  appearance  of  the  chief  was 
very  surprising  to  me,  for  I  had  expected  to  see  a 
profusion  of  paint  and  feathers,  and  wampum  of  costly 
texture.  Instead  of  that,  he  was  clothed  in  a  buffalo 
overcoat,  a  stove-pipe  hat,  and  wore  a  pair  of  green 
spectacles.  His  belt  was  probably  the  gift  of  a  soldier, 
as  it  bore  the  U.  S.  in  front.  His  outfit  had  all  prob 
ably  been  given  to  him  by  some  traders  at  the  fort. 

"  I  addressed  him  politely  as  he  entered,  but  I  did 
not  at  first  regard  him  as  the  chief.  On  pronouncing 
his  name,  he  bowed,  and,  as  I  supposed  by  his  dress  that 
he  must  be  a  half-breed,  and  could  speak  English,  I  ad 
dressed  him  in  that  tongue,  but  he  would  make  no 
response.  Still  believing  that  it  was  only  Indian  policy 
and  custom  not  to  know  English,  I  pressed  the  point 
in  broken  Indian ;  but  a  persistent  protest  of  silence  in 
Chas-chun-ka  compelled  me  to  send  for  my  little  teach 
er  and  mission  boy,  Wabessa-wawa  (White  Goose). 
He  came  trembling  and  abashed  before  the  sachem  and 
his  warriors,  and,  as  he  passed  the  chief,  the  latter  pat 
ted  him  on  the  head,  and  said  some  approving  word, 
that  caused  the  boy  to  smile. 

"  The  council  wras  opened  as  usual  with  the  pipe  and 
the  shaking  of  hands.  Then  all  were  seated  again,  and 
looked  to  me  to  make  known  my  business.  I  arose, 
and  after  telling  them  of  my  long  residence  at  Assinni- 
Manness,  with  their  friends,  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  and  of 
my  labors  for  their  Great  Father,  the  President.;  in  sur 
veying  the  lands  he  bought  of  them,  I  told  them  I 
had  come  to  see  their  country  by  the  request  of  their 
Father.  Then  I  showed  them  the  passport  given  me 


134  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

by  General  Chambers,  and  told  the  chief  that  I  wanted 
to  go  across  his  country  and  make  a  picture  of  it  for  the 
president. 

"After  hearing  me  and  examining  my  maps  and 
sketches  taken  on  the  way  up,  some  of  which  lie  cor 
rected —  for  the  Indian  is  a  topographical  draughtsman 
by  nature  —  lie  handed  the  papers  back  and  shook  his 
head.  Looking  around  on  his  warriors  with  an  air  of 
kingly  importance,  lie  directed  the  interpreter  to  tell  me 
that  he  could  not  let  me  go  over  his  lands  for  any  such 
purpose.  He  said  he  well  knew  the  object  of  his  Great 
Father  in  sending  me  there  to  make  a  picture  of  his 
country ;  that  if  it  was  good  for  the  white  he  would  buy 
it,  but  if  not  the  Indian  could  keep  it.  No,  I  could 
not  go.  After  many  entreaties  and  presents  to  induce 
him  to  yield,  I  found  it  of  no  use,  and  the  council 
broke  up.  This  was  a  difficulty  that  I  had  not  an 
ticipated,  and  all  my  plans  seemed  liable  to  fail. 

"The  next  day  I  visited  him  with  one  of  my  men  in 
his  lodge  at  the  village.  He  was  affable  and  polite, 
but  rather  cool,  and  when  the  subject  of  explorations 
was  introduced  lie  became  silent  and  morose.  I  there 
fore  left  him,  determined  to  visit  Fort  Atkinson  and 
see  the  Winnebago  agent. 

"It  had  now  become  late  in  the  season,  and  there 
was  great  danger  in  traversing  an  unknown  country 
at  such  an  inclement  season  without  a  guide  or  trail. 
Moreover,  I  should  be  subject  to  the  watchful  eye  of  the 
Indians,  and  if  the  chief  found  I  had  left,  he  would  send 
his  warriors  and  bring  me  back.  ]>ut  I  was  not  to  be 
baffled  in  my  plans,  and  give  up  my  project  without  a 
struggle.  I  was  not  afraid  of  the  Indian,  for  I  knew 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS*    CAMP.        135 

that.  I  was  regarded  as  an  agent  of  the  government, 
and  so  no  harm  must  come  to  me  in  his  territory.  I 
would  not  ask  the  chief  for  a  guide,  or  even  let  him 
know  of  my  intentions  of  visiting  the  agency,  as  it 
was  on  Indian  territory,  to  which  I  had  already  been 
refused  access. 

"I  therefore  set  out  early  one  morning,  with  one 
man  and  two  horses,  across  the  country  one  hundred 
and  twenty-live  miles,  for  Fort  Atkinson,  with  no  map 
or  trail,  and  with  the  assurance,  almost,  that  I  should 
ba  arrested  and  brought  back  by  the  Indians.  I  knew 
the  course  to  be  about  north-west,  and  expecting  to 
find  trails,  or  see  some  Indians,  when  near  there,  who 
would  direct  me  to  the  fort,  I  entered  on  the  journey. 
At  first  I  avoided  the  prairie  to  escape  the  vigilance 
of  the  Indians.  On  the  second  day  out  a  dense  fog 
covered  the  open  country,  while  it  rained  in  torrents. 
The  streams  were  so  swollen  that  we  were  obliged  to 
swim  them  with  our  horses.  When  three  days  out, 
and  near  night,  it  cleared  up,  the  fog  rolled  off,  and  it 
turned  cold.  We  steered  for  a  grove  in  sight,  which 
we  reached  just  at  dark,  and  to  our  surprise  found 
there  the  ashes  of  our  morning  camp  lire.  We  had 
wandered  in  the  fog  all  day  at  good  speed  to  come 
back  there  for  the  night. 

"The  next  morning  we  put  out  again,  and  after  a 
journey  of  live  days  more,  over  wet  prairie  and  swollen 
streams,  we  reached  the  fort.  The  first  night  we  were 
entertained  within  its  walls  to  our  full  comfort.  The 
agent  then  provided  for  us  during  the  ten  days  that 
we  remained. 

"While  here  I   visited  the  Mission  School  of  Mr. 


136  THE    GENERAL,    OK 

Lowry.  It  contained  about  sixty  scholars  of  botli 
sexes,  many  of  whom  had  made  good  advances  in  read 
ing  and  writing  English.  There  was  a  farm  of  twelve 
hundred  acres,  broken  up  and  fenced,  with  suitable 
buildings,  all  belonging  to  the  agency,  and  intended  to 
teach  the  Indians  agriculture  and  the  arts  of  civilized 
life.  But  they  could  not  be  made  to  work.  Govern 
ment  paid  for  the  labor  of  eight  men;  but  lew  Indians 
would  go  into  the  fields  to  work. 

"Mr.  Lowry  gave  me  a  passport  to  go  over  the  lands 
of  the  Winnebagoes :  and  he  also  wrote  a  letter  to 
Chas-chun-ka,  telling  him  what  a  great  and  good  chief 
he  was,  and  that  he  had  always  been  friendly  to  the 
white  man,  and  that  now  he  must  permit  me  to  cross 
his  lands  whenever  I  pleased,  and  that  by  so  doing  he 
would  not  only  please  him,  but  his  Great  Father. 

"I  returned,  and,  taking  Wabessa-wawa  to  read  the  let 
ter,  I  rode  over  to  the  lodge  of  the  chief  and  presented 
him  the  papers  given  me  by  the  agent.  When  the 
letter  was  read,  it  flattered  his  vanity  so  much  that  he 
sent  for  the  chiefs  and  braves,  and  Jiad  the  same  read 
to  them.  When  it  spoke  of  his  greatness  and  goodness 
he  would  look  around  on  his  men  with  a  proud  and 
haughty  air,  as  if  to  say,  'Behold  your  chiefj  and  hear 
what  the  white  man  says  of  him.'  His  whole  being 
seemed  at  once  changed,  and  lie  told  me  that  I  might 
go  all  about  over  his  country,  and  that  he  would  send 
men  with  me. 

"  The  next  day  he  came  over  to  see  me,  and  of  course 
to  get  some  presents.  He  wanted  me  to  wait  lor  him 
two  weeks  or  so,  when  he  would  go  with  me.  I  did  so, 
but  seeing  no  preparation  by  him  for  such  a  trip,  I 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTEKS'    CAMP.        137 

started  without  him.  My  route  lay  up  the  Wabes- 
sapinecon  to  its  head  and  down  the  Cedar. 

"During  my  absence  the  Indians,  many  of  them, 
had  removed,  and  among  them,  greatly  to  my  regret, 
had  gone  the  lodge  of  my  little  interpreter,  "Wabessa- 
vvawa.  I  could  get  no  information  which  way  he  had 
gone,  only  that  he  left  with  his  people  for  a  hunt. 

"After  recruiting  myself  and  horses,  I  again  started 
towards  the  head-waters  of  the  Des  Moines.  I  had  not 
passed  the  Neutral  Grounds,  when  one  day  we  came  on 
an  encampment  of  Winnebagoes,  who  seemed  boister 
ous  and  much  disposed  to  plunder,  pulling  the  packs 
from  the  horses,  and  demanding  bread  and  meat.  Their 
rudeness  Avas  observed  by  the  old  men  of  the  tribe,  but 
they  said  nothing,  till  I  went  to  one  of  them,  and,  ad 
dressing  him  in  his  own  tongue,  I  told  him  I  was  the 
friend  of  Chas-chun-ka,  and  the  agent  of  the  govern 
ment,  and  that  I  had  a  pass  from  Mr.  Lowry,  and  that 
they  must  not  allow  their  young  braves  to  do  such 
things.  In  a  moment  he  spoke  to  the  rude  fellows, 
telling  them  who  I  was,  when  they  left  the  stores, 
but  with  evident  reluctance  and  disappointment.  On 
making  inquiry  for  the  trail  that  led  to  an  old  trading 
post  on  the  river,  four  or  five  young  Indians  stepped 
forward  and  offered  to  show  me  the  way.  We  took 
their  lead,  and  pursued  it  for  more  than  a  mile,  when, 
on  looking  back,  I  saw  an  Indian  boy  coming  up  in 
great  haste.  The  party  came  to  a  halt,  and  the  boy 
came  up,  wrapped  in  his  blanket,  his  face  half  averted, 
but  with  his  keen  eye  fixed  on  me. 

"  Speaking  in  a  low  tone,  he  said,  '  You  are  on  the 
wrong  trail.  The  Indians  who  sent  you  here  are  bad 


138  THE    GENERAL,    OB 

Indians,  and  they  mean  to  follow  and  rob  you.'  I. 
pulled  the  blanket  aside,  and  discovered  the  pretty  face 
of  my  Wabessa-wawa.  He  seemed  in  much  excite 
ment  and  haste.  Requesting  me  to  follow  him,  he 
struck  off  through  the  woods  at  a  rapid  rate,  and  where 
there  was  no  path  ;  arid  after  travelling  about  a  mile,  lie 
came  out 'into  a  beaten  track.  'This,'  said  he,  'is  your 
path.  I  heard  you  ask  for  the  trail  to  the  old  trading- 
house,  and  saw  those  bad  Indians  put  you  in  the  wrong 
way,  and  I  came  to  tell  you.'  He  would  not  allow  me 
time  to  inquire  where  his  lodge  was,  or  where  I  should 
see  him,  if  ever,  again,  nor  hardly  to  untie  the  pack  and 
give  him  some  biscuit  and  pork.  I  did,  however, 
adding  some  pieces  of  silver  coin.  Shaking  the  little 
fellow  by  the  hand,  I  let  go  of  him,  and  in  a  few  mo 
ments  he  was  lost  in  the  thick  wood,  on  his  way  to  the 
lodge. 

"  Here,  thought  I,  are  the  fruits  of  Christianity  and 
the  germs  of  civilization  in  a  savage.  This  boy  had 
been  taught  at  the  Mission  School,  and,  aside  from 
seeing  his  friend  robbed,  he  knew  the  wickedness  of 
the  deed,  and  his  duty  to  prevent  it.  He  had  the 
native  cunning  of  his  race,  and  knew  how  to  avoid 
detection  for  thwarting  the  designs  of  bad  men. 

"  We  returned  in  safety  from  this  trip,  and  ouce 
more  recruited  at  our  supply  camp,  or  headquarters. 
Then  we  made  a  short  excursion  towards  the  Missouri 
River,  but  snows  had  become  so  deep  that  travelling 
was  almost  impossible.  We  were  three  weeks  in  snow 
from  two  to  four  feet  deep.  Our  usual  method  in 
camping  was  to  find  a  large  log,  tramp  down  the  snow 
beside  it,  pitch  the  tent,  spread  down  the  green  hides 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS5    CAMP.        139 

of  elk  or  deer,  and  build  a  good  fire.  J^o  dampness 
could  penetrate  these  fresh  skins,  and  so,  wrapping  our 
selves  in  blankets  and  buffaloes,  we  slept  soundly. 

"An  Indian  trader  had  come  to  the  same  place 
where  we  had  made  our  depot,  late  in  the  fall,  and, 
among  other  things,  he,  as  usual,  brought  whiskey.  He 
hnd  built  himself  a  small  trading-house  near  to  us. 
This  served  to  gather  about  him  large  numbers  of  In 
dians,  and  though  he  managed  to  deal  out  his  poison 
with  some  degree  of  caution,  as  a  thing  forbidden  by 
the  government,  yet  at  times  a  few  drunken  Indians 
would  be  found  about  the  camp.  On  such  occasions  I 
never  allowed  them  in  my  camp. 

"  On  my  return  from  the  Missouri  River  trip  I  found 
the  trading-house  closed,  the  Indians  drunk,  the  barrel 
of  whiskey,  all  that  was  left  of  the  trader's  stock,  moved 
up  to  my  camp,  and  the  clerk  there  in  attendance  on 
it.  The  trader  himself  had  gone  to  Dubuque  for 
goods,  and  left  his  clerk,  a  cowardly  and  effeminate 
fellow,  in  charge.  The  Indians  demanded  liquor,  and 
to  prevent  their  getting  it,  he  had  rolled  the  barrel  to 
my  premises,  and  left  it  with  my  tent-keeper. 

"It  was  late  in  the  night  when  I  arrived,  and  being 
indignant  that  it  had  been  placed  in  my  depot,  I 
ordered  it' out,  and  it  was  set  outside.  But  it  was  too 
late  in  the  stage  of  affairs  to  quell  the  disturbance. 
The  Indians  were  already  maddened  by  the  beginnings 
of  intoxication,  and  no  persuasion  or  refusal  of  the 
trader's  clerk  could  quiet  their  demands.  I  had  per 
emptorily  forbidden  the  sale  of  any  more  to  them,  and 
the  clerk,  now  finding  the  trading-house  too  warm  a 
place  for  him,  closed  the  doors  and  took  refuge  in  my 
tent. 


140  THE    GENERAL,    OK 

*'  The  Indians  had  threatened  to  scalp  him  if  he  did 
not  produce  the  liquor,  and  followed  him  to  my  quar 
ters.  Here  they  found  the  barrel  of  whiskey  outside 
the  door.  I  spoke  to  them  with  firmness,  refusing 

I  O 

them  any  more.  A  portion  of  them,  Chas-chun-ka, 
and  some  of  his  braves,  had  come  inside,  and  sat  in 
silence  around  my  fire.  Some  of  the  chiefs,  who  knew 
me  well,  had  come  to  me  in  behalf  of  the  whole 
pleading  for  more  whiskey.  I  firmly  refused.  Being- 
weary  from  the  long  and  hard  march  of  the  day,  I 
lay  down  for  some  rest,  ordering  my  men  to  keep  their 
arms  in  readiness,  while  I  placed  the  heavy  hickory 
fire-poker  near  me.  The  Indians  were  without  arms, 
having  deposited  them,  as  usual,  with  their  knives  and 
tomahawks,  on  the  top  of  the  trading-house,  and  the 
most  of  them  were  too  drunk  to  get  them  again 
readily,  even  if  the  sober  ones  would  Jet  them.  As  I 
lay  on  my  lounge,  a  large  crowd  was  outside,  and  ten 
or  fifteen  inside. 

"An  old  squaw,  in  order  to  bring  me  to  terms,  had 
commenced  pounding  on  the  head  of  the  whiskey  bar 
rel,  as  it  stood  near  my  camp.  Big  "Wave  came  to  me 
in  great  pretended  alarm,  and  told  me  that  unless  I 
permitted  them  to  have  whiskey,  he  feared  they  would 
break  in  the  head  of  the  barrel,  and  then  all  would  be 
drunk,  and  great  trouble  would  follow.  I  told  him 
that  if  he  allowed  that  liquor  to  be  broken  open  I 
would  kill  every  Indian  within  my  reach.  In  the 
mean  time  the  old  squaw  kept  tip  her  drumming,  and 
as  the  chief  himself  disappeared  from  the  door-way,  the 
head  of  the  cask  went  in  ! 

"  In  a  moment  I  sprang   from  my  bed,  caught  my 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS5    CAMP.       141 

walnut  poker,  a  stick  five  feet  long,  and  cried  out  to 
my  men,  in  the  Indian  language,  to  kill  all  in  the  cabin 
first.  With  one  stroke  I  split  the  table  to  pieces  with 
a  great  noise,  it  being  made  of  the  lids  of  a  dry  goods 
box,  and  continued  striking  right  and  left,  whooping 
loud  and  sharp  to  my  men  to  kill  the  chiefs  first.  The 
cabin  was  soon  emptied  of  Indians,  and,  with  those  out 
side,  they  all  took  to  their  heels  like  a  herd  of  deer. 
I  had  the  barrel  of 'whiskey  moved  inside  again,  the 
door  barricaded,  and  quiet  restored.  Of  course  no  In 
dian  was  hurt  by  us,  as  ray  men  were  under  secret 
instructions  to  injure  no  one.  The  next  morning  a  few 
came  back,  and  were  shown  a  large  place  in  the  snow 
where  the  whiskey  was  deposited,  with  the  barrel  bot 
tom  up  over  it.  The  liquor  was  confiscated  and  gone, 
only  an  odor  remaining  in  the  snow. 

"  An  Indian  cannot  fight  with  a  club,  but  to  him  it 
is  a  most  formidable  weapon  in  the  hands  of  an  angry 
white  man.  Take  from  them  the  gun,  tomahawk,  and 
knife,  and  a  resolute  man  can  drive  a  host  of  them. 
When  once  the  Indian  has  tasted  liquor,  he  does  not 
leave  it  till  drunk,  or  the  liquor  gives  out.  He  knows 
no  other  use  for  it,  except  to  produce  intoxication.  It 
is  not  a  pleasant  beverage  to  him  ;  he  does  not  like  the 
taste  of  it ;  it  is  only  for  the  effect  that  he  drinks  it. 
His  palate  is  as  little  vitiated  as  that  of  a  child.  He 
uses  no  salt,  nor  seasoned  food,  and  has  a  very  keen 
and  sensitive  taste.  I  have  seen  an  Indian  in  apparent 
agony  by  the  use  of  whiskey  ;  for  the  article  prepared 
for  their  market  is  often  well  spiced  with  red  pepper 
and  gums  to  keep  up  its  strength.  And  I  have  seen 
the  young  Indian  and  squaw  held  by  main  strength, 


142  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

while  whiskey  has  been   administered  to  them,  that 
they  might  be  taught  to  drink  it. 

"  I  returned  to  Davenport  with  my  party,  having 
accomplished  a  good  work  for  the  season,  on  my  sur 
vey  for  a  territorial  map.  This  I  finished  the  next 
year.  The  result  of  my  explorations  at  this  early  day 
were  important  themselves,  though  small.  My  '  Map 
and  Notes  of  Iowa'  were  published  by  Doolittlc  & 
Munson,  of  Cincinnati,  in  the  spring  of  1845,  and 
'did  more,'  says  a  late  writer,  'to  disseminate  a 
knowledge  of  the  Territory  of  Iowa  than  anything  ever 
before  published.'  The  legislature  of  the  territory 
complimented  the  work  by  ordering  copies  for  each 
member  of  both  houses,  and  for  all  the  heads  of  de 
partments.  'Many  works,'  says  one' writer,  'since 
written,  have  been  largely  indebted  to  this  little  work 
for  valuable  information.  And  many  a  settler  from 
the  old  world  dates  his  ideas  of  emigration  from  read 
ing  those  Notes  on  Iowa.' " 

This  section  of  The  General's  narrative,  more  than 
any  one  of  the  preceding,  set  the  Western  members  of 
the  party  to  talking  about  early  times  on  the  Upper 
Mississippi.  The  reader  will  see  it  was  going  back  to 
their  own  cabin  days,  when  red  men  were  compelled 
by  Generals  Scott  and  Atkinson  to  talk  by  the  council 
fires  of  the  pale  faces,  and  when  the  towns  of  civiliza 
tion  were  crowding  farther  west  the  wigwam,  and  when 
the  birch  canoe  glided  away  from  the  danger  of  being 
swamped  in  the  wake  of  the  Scuti-Chemon  —  the  Fire 
Canoe.  Some  of  them  had  to  tell  of  the  days  they 
remembered  when  there  were  no  white  settlements 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        143 

back  of  Davenport,  beyond  Duck  Creek,  four  miles 
out,  while  now  it  is  solid  with  firms  and  cities,  rail 
roads,  and  the  institutions  and  improvements,  com 
merce  and  comforts,  of  civilization  four  hundred  miles 
to  Omaha.  Since  that  Seventh  Night  a  railroad  has 
been  opened  nine  hundred  and  sixty  miles  west  beyond 
Omaha.  Then  little  settlements  dotted  the  western 
bank  of  the  Mississippi  on  the  Iowa  line,  like  scat 
tered  and  lonely  beacon  lights,  heralding  the  coming 
of  a  great  population.  Then  Iowa  had  less  than 
fifty  thousand  inhabitants ;  now  a  million  and  a  half 
are  gathered  in  her  rural  districts,  thriving  cities, 
and,  to  many  of  them,  palace  homes.  They  talked 
of  those  masses  of  emigration  that  had  swept  on 
under  their  own  eyes  beyond  Missouri  and  Kansas 
Territory  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  over  them, 
building  an  empire  on  the  Pacific.  It  was  thrilling  to 
hear  those  men  of  commerce,  and  of  manufactures,  and 
of  the  Rocky  Mountain  trade  tell  what  their  own  eyes 
had  seen  of  the  growth  of  states  —  a  sight  and  growth 
such  as  no  nation  or  kingdom  ever  saw  before. 

I  am  afraid  we  sat  up  that  night  longer  than  our 
Puritan  ancestors  would  approve,  but  there  was  no 
nine  o'clock  bell  within  scores  of  miles  of  us. 


144  THE    GENERAL,   OR 


EIGHTH  NIGHT. 

ru  Ji"]THE]Sr  I  arose  the  next  morning  I  found  quite  a 
\  V  number  ahead  of  me  at  the  camp  fire,  and  all 
discussing  with  lively  interest  the  incidents  related  the 
evening  before  by  The  General.  The  frontier  and 
Western  spirit  of  all  the  older  members  of  our  encamp 
ment  was  well  stirred,  and  they  were  living  old  times 
over  again.  When  The  General  joined  the  group  at 
the  fire,  they  hailed  him  as  a  kind  of  Christopher  Co 
lumbus,  who  had  opened  that  part  of  the  new  world 
to  them;  and  when  he  assured  them  of  still  more 
thrilling  incidents,  enacted  in  regions  now  well  settled 
and  familiar,  they  were  impatient  for  the  evening.  But 
as  nothing  spoils  the  hunter's  appetite,  neither  impa 
tience  nor  delay,  tramping  or  resting,  we  proceeded  to 
do  justice  to  African  labors  in  the  culinary  line,  and 
had  our  usual  success. 

The  hunt  for  the  day  had  many  stirring  events,  mixed 
in  of  game  captured  and  missed,  that  I  will  not  pause 
to  mention  in  details.  Suffice  to  say,  that  after  long 
ranges,  and  with  evening  shadows,  we  garnished  the 
saplings  and  limbs  around  the  camp  with  their  usual 
hangings  of  fur  and  feathers,  and  could  have  filled  large 
orders  for  a  game  supper  at  the  Fifth  Avenue,  without 
endangering  our  own  table. 

It  is  a  marvel  to  the  inexperienced  that  we  hunting 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.         145 

an.d  fishing  men  can  walk  so  far,  and  carry  so  much 
weight,  without  great  fatigue,  and  endure  heat,  and 
cold,  and  rain,  and  sleet,  without  injury.  The  fact  is, 
the  nature  of  the  sport  is  strengthening,  and  legitimate 
ly  gives  one  a  good  physique. 

And  this  helps  towards  a  full  manhood.  For  the 
intellectual  and  the  moral  arc  not  wont  to  develop  well 
through  a  feeble  body.  The  greatness  of  many  of  our 
great  men  stands  closely  allied  to  a  strong  body.  Le 
gends  of  enormous  power  cluster  about  Brougham  as 
they  did  about  Hercules.  Professor  Wilson  was  as 
famous  for  casting  the  hammer  as  for  throwing  his  own 
thoughts  at  you.  Burns  led  the  youth  of  his  day  in 
wrestling,  pulling,  and  other  Scotch  sports  of  the  ath 
lete.  Isaac  Barrow,  that  prince  of  preachers,  was  noted 
at  the  Charter  House  School  for  the  muscle  he  carried, 
and  was  strikingly  impressive  in  pugilistic  argument. 
Andrew  Fuller  was  splendid  at  boxing,  and  Adam, 
Clarke  was  famous  for  rolling  huge  stones  about.  It 
is  of  little  use  to  try  to  work  a  powerful  engine  in  a 
weak  frame.  You,  a  preacher,  feel  poorly  on  Monday, 
and  about  adequate  to  the  effort  of  seeing  the  cream 
rise  on  a  pan  of  new  milk.  A  part  of  this  feeling  is 
professionally  imaginary,  and  suggestive  that  you  per 
formed  a  wonderful  raid  exhausting  work  the  day 
before.  Some  clergymen  are  so  very  able  that  they 
can  preach  but  one  sermon  a  day,  and  have  no  evening 
meetings  or  pastoral  jtvork,  and  so  must  have  vacations 
lengthy  and  often;  and  if  very  feeble,  and  in  a  wealthy 
society,  they  absolutely  need  a  trip  to  foreign  lands. 

Others  are  really  weary  on  Monday.  Dear  Sirs,  you 
•should  go  to  Dr.  Nimrod's  Water  Cure  —  a  leaky  tent 
10 


146  THE    GENBJXAL,    OR 

—  and  take  his  prescriptions,  to  wit :  The  Walton  fish 
hook  every  other  day,  alternating  with  number  six  shot. 
This  is  precisely  what  the  fable  means  about  Antaeus 
and  Hercules.  Antaeus  was  the  son  of  Terra  and  Xep- 
tune  —  land  and  water.  He  came  of  good  stock,  one 
of  the  "  first  families."  Like  Brougham,  and  Barrow, 
and  others,  he  was  famed  for  wrestling,  ahd  wTas  more 
than  a  match  for  Hercules,  because  as  often  as  he 
touched  the  earth  —  his  mother  —  she  renewed  his 
strength.  Then  Hercules,  discovering  the  secret,  lifted 
him  up  in  the  air,  and  squeezed  him  to  death.  That 
is,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Antaeus  became  very  averse  to  the 
ground.  He  disliked  a  cane,  and  a  spade,  and  a  fish 
ing-rod,  and  gun,  and  a  prairie  hay  bed,  and  birch- 
canoe.  He  allowed  himself  to  be  lifted  up  into  a  car 
riage,  and  an  easy-chair  in  his  study,  and  into  the 
seventh  story  of  a  fashionable  hotel,  and  so  his  life 
was  squeezed  out  of  him.  If  he  would  have  kept  his 
toes  on  the  ground  through  vacation ! 

O  O 

I  meet  the  Rev.  Mr.  Antaeus  frequently  in  the  last 
stages  of  his  wrestling.  He  has  a  thin  girl's  hand,  a 
sallow,  flabby  cheek,  a  stooping  gait,  and  a  Chinese 
foot,  and  the  latest  issue  of  the  prolific  press.  Poor 
man!  There  is  just  one  chance  for  you,  dyspeptic  and 
dying.  Come  down,  to  the  ground,  and  let  your  par 
ents,  jSTeptune  and  Terra,  nurse  you.  Cook  your  own 
trout  on  the  Parmachene,  cat  moose  beef  and  venison 
by  your  own  camp  lire  in  Xew  Brunswick,  bear's  meat 
in  the  Adirondacks,  and  grouse  on  the  Iowa-  prairies. 
Then,  in  the  next  match,  I  will  bet  on  you  against  Her 
cules. 

But  you  think  it  undignified  in  scholarly  men  to 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTEES'    CAMP.        147 

come  down  to  the  earth  in  this  way.  Better  so  than 
to  come  under  the  earth  with  semi-suicidal  dignity. 

O  «/ 

Anything,  almost,  that  will  enable  you  to  throw  Her 
cules.  Perhaps  you  have  religious  scruples.  Then 
read  Robert  Boyle's  Angling  Improved  to  Spiritual 
Uses,  forty-two  pages,  royal  quarto.  But  such  amuse 
ment  and  recreation  you  regard  as  uhministerial.  You 
should  study  carefully  A  Discourse  uttered  in  Part  at 
Ammauskeeg-Fails,  in  the  Fishing  Season,  1739.  By 
Joseph  Seccombe.  John  xxi.  3.  The  topic  of  the 
worthy  divine,  drawn  from  the  words  of  St.  Peter,  "I 
go  a-iishing,"  and  the  reply  of  the  apostles,  "  We  also 
go  with  thee,"  is  this:  Business  and  Diversion  inof 
fensive  to  God,  and  necessary  for  the  Comfort  and  Sup 
port  of  Human  Society.  For  certain  ones,  so  devout 
they  cannot  smile  nearer  to  the  Sabbath  than  Wednes 
day,  he  remarks,  "  Some  so  muffle  up  Christianity,  and 
make  it  look  so  melancholy,  sickly,  and  sour,  that  in 
considerate  people  are  apt  to  dread  its  commands." 

If  you  are  shy  of  diversion,  and  a  good,  natural,  jolly 
time,  and  plead  the  demands  of  business,  beware  of 
coming  within  reach  of  the  sarcasm  of  Locke  :  "  Some 
men  may  be  said  never  to  divert  themselves ;  they  can 
not  turn  aside  from  business,  for  they  never  do  any." 

We  were  all  waiting  by  the  huge  fires,  in  the  gray 
dusk  of  the  evening,  for  The  General,  who  always  had 
ways  and  times  of  his  own,  when  he  came  leisurely  up 
to  the  group.  lie  opened  on  us  with  a  merry  remark 
that  sent  a  volume  of  laughter  to  the  other  shore  of 
Swan  Lake. 

It  is  a  privilege  that  we  hunters  enjoy  of  laughing 
to  the  full  compass  and  volume  of  civilized  life,  and 


148  THE    GENERAL.    OR 

that,  too,  without  disturbing  any  neighbors.  Mr.  Smith, 
across  our  street,  is  not  annoyed,  and  Mrs.  Bryant's 
baby,  on  the  next  square,  is  not  waked  up,  by  these 
audible  expressions  of  our  cheerfulness.  It  will  be  a 
sad  day  for  this  country  when  the  population  is  so  dense 
that  one  cannot  laugh  comfortably  without  disturbing 
some  neighbor. 

Taking  his  seat  on  the  largest  log,  he  set  his  compass 
and  laid  his  chain,  like  an  old  surveyor,  by  the  last 
stake,  and  so  renewed  the  narrative  of  his  wanderings. 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTEIis'    CAMP.       149 


TERRIBLE  TIMES  IN  THE  WOODS. 

"  In  1843  the  public  surveys,  that  had  been  suspended 
for  some  time,  again  commenced.  I  was  sent  by  the 
surveyor-general  into  the  country  lying  north  of  the 
Wisconsin  River,  and  on  the  Kickapoo.  This  was 
a  rough,  broken,  wilderness  land.  It  was  formerly 
owned  by  the  Winnebagoes,  and  obtained  from  them 
by  treaty,  through  Governor  Dodge,  in  1834.  It  is  ex 
tensively  known  as  The  Sugar  Loaves  of  Wisconsin, 
from  its  abrupt  and  rounded  peaks  and  inaccessible 
points,  separated  by  deep  ravines  and  impenetrable 
thickets.  It  was  through  this  region  that  Black  Hawk 
warily  led  his  trusty  followers  when  pursued  by  Colonel 
Atkinson.  His  command  became  entangled  among  the 
precipices  and  gorges,  and  he  was  obliged  to  abandon 
his  wagons,  baggage,  and  all,  with  the  loss  of  many  of 
his  horses,  and  some  men. 

"  I  undertook  my  work  here  in  May,  and  though  my 
progress  was  slow,  the  weather  warm,  and  mosquitos 
almost  beyond  endurance,  the  health  of  the  company 
kept  good,  and  the  work  went  forward.  Provisions  of 
all  kinds  had  to  be  obtained  from  Prairie  du  Chien, 
about  fifty  miles  distant,  as  this  was  the  nearest  trading 
point  to  my  work,  and  thence  they  were  brought  into 
camp  on  pack  animals.- 

"About  the  middle  of  July  our  provisions  grew 
scanty,  and,  as  there  was  very  little  game  to  be  had,  I 
started  for  Prairie  du  Chien  for  supplies.  During  my 


150  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

absence  of  several  clays,  there  passed  across  this  Kick 
apoo  region  the  most  terrific  hurricane  that  the  West 
ever  experienced.  From  Prairie  clu  Chien  to  the 
Kickapoo  River,  a  distance  of  forty  miles  and  more, 
the  country  is  prairie,  but  beyond  that,  inward  to  my 
field  of  labor,  heavily  timbered,  and  mostly  with  sugar 
maple. 

"At  the  point  where  my  trail  entered  this  timber,  the 
tornado  seemed  to  expend  the  strength  of  its  fury.  Its 
effects  were  almost  utter  destruction  for  miles  in  ex 
tent.  The  forest  was  uprooted,  and  trees  of  immense 
size  were  twisted  and  broken  into  all  shapes,  and  then 
'left  piled  up  in  unlimited  confusion. 

"  I  arrived  at  the  crossing  of  the  Kickapoo  with  my 
supplies  just  at  night,  and  saw  the  utter  desolation  and 
destruction.  Even  the  river  was  full  of  broken  trees 
and  limbs,  afloat  and  fast,  and  my  way  appeared  to  be 
shut  up  beyond  my  power  to  open  it.  With  much 
anxious  thought  for  the  morrow,  I  encamped  for  the 
night.  My  only  hopes  were,  that  the  extent  of  the  tor 
nado  had  not  reached  my  camp,  and  that  their  supplies 
would  hold  out  while  I  worked  my  "tedious  way  to 
them  through  these  forest  ruins.  My  detention  at 
Prairie  du  Chien  had  been  unexpectedly  long,  and  I 
knew  their  provisions  could  not  last  many  days.  The 
exigencies  demanded  prompt  and  vigorous  action,  and 
I  summoned  all  my  energy  to  meet  them. 

"  There  was  a  Winnebago  camp  near  the  crossing, 
and  I  soon  found  my  way  there,  amid  the  barking  of 
dogs  and  crying  of  pappooses.  I  at  once  made  known 
to  the  chief  my  condition,  and  the  situation  of  my  men, 
shut  off  from  me  by  the  tornado.  From  him  I  learned 


151 

the  course  of  the  tornado,  and  the  width  of  its  track 
of  destruction.  I  hired  several  Indians,  and  early  the 
next  morning  crossed  with  them  the  river,  and  com 
menced  cutting  a  bridle-path  through  the  confused  and 
tangled  mass.  The  progress  was  slow  and  discoura 
ging.  We  spent  hours  in  trying  to  find  a  zigzag  course 
around  the  impenetrable  piles  and  windfalls,  often  only 
to  come  at  last  to  some  confused  mass  that  I  could  not 
pass,  much  less  my  pack-horses.  Tired  and  distressed, 
I  recrossed  the  river  at  night,  and  encamped  with  my 
Indians.  The  next  morning  I  was  again  at  work, 
hoping  to  find  the  range  of  the  tornado  such  that  I 
could  turn  to  one  side  from  its  debris,  but  in  vain. 
The  second  night  found  me  back  in  my  old  camp, 
totally  baffled. 

"  I  then  had  canoes  prepared,  and  the  next  morning 
I  started  the  Indians  up  the  river  in  them  with  the  sup 
plies,  while  I  followed  on  the  land.  I  took  but  one 
pack-horse  with  me,  and  ascending  the  Kickapoo  till  I 
had  passed  across  the  range  of  the  hurricane,  I  swam 
my  horse  over,  landed  my  provisions,  and  discharged 
the  Indians.  The  sun  was  setting  as  I  stood  alone  on 
the  bank.  The  canoes  of  the  faithful  Indians  were  re 
ceding  from  my  view,  and  my  never-tiring  horse,  that 
had  been  with  me  for  years  in  my  explorations  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  alone  was  left  as  my  companion,  while 
no  habitation  of  a  white  man  was  within  forty  miles 
of  me. 

"  Increasing  excitement  for  the  safety  of  my  men 
nerved  me  for  struggle  with  any  difficulties.  That 
night  I  carried  rny  supplies  half  a  mile,  and  spreading 
sticks  and  grass  on  the  wet  ground,  I  placed  them  there 


152  THE    GSXEEAL,    OB 

carefully,  and  covered  them  over  with  bark  and  brush.- 
I  slept  but  little  that  night,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  light 
enough  to  travel,  I  made  fast  a  sack  of  flour  and  some 
pork  to  my  horse,  and  then  laid  my  course  in  such  a 
direction  as  I  thought  would  intersect,  beyond  the 
sweep  of  the  tornado,  the  trail  by  which  I  had  origi 
nally  entered  the  forest.  Unfortunately,  I  had  no 
compass,  or  any  other  guide  below  the  sun,  except  the 
Indian's  north  star,  the  moss  on  the  tree.  The  country 
was  broken  into  ravines  and  precipitous  peaks,  of*which 
I  have  spoken.  "With  my  hatchet  in  one  hand,  and 
the  bridle-rein  in  the  other,  I  plunged  into  the  dark 
forest  in  my  perilous  journey,  hurried  and  strength 
ened  by  painful  anxieties  for  the  fate  of  my  men. 

"Though  I  avoided  the  confused  path  of  the  tor 
nado,  I  found  difficulties  in  the  way,  and  my  progress 
was  very  slow  through  thickets,  and  around  sloughs, 
and  mountains,  and  ravines.  By  shunning  the  trail 
of  the  whirlwind,  I  had  nearly  doubled  my  distance  to 
the  camp,  and  my  physical  energies  were  taxed  to  the 
utmost,  while  the  exciting  conviction  urged  me  on, 
that  my  men  must  now  be  entirely  destitute  of  any 
supplies,  and  possibly  starving  and  dying  before  I  could 
reach  them.  When  darkness  overtook  me  again,  my 
little  camp  fire  was  lighted,  and  my  faithful  Luke  was 
spancelled  out  to  crop  such  scanty  vegetation  as  he 
could  find  in  the  dark  recesses  of  the  wood.  I  pre 
pared  and  ate  my  scanty  meal  in  silence,  and  then, 
rolling  myself  up  in  my  blanket,  I  slept.  Then  dreams 
came,  not  of  home,  with  its  comforts  and  blessings, 
nor  of  its  dear  ones,  but  of  those  who  looked  to  me 
for  protection  and  food,  now  shut  up  among  the  rocks 
and  dells  of  the  wilderness. 


"At  early  dawn  I  was  again  on  my  route.  This 
clay  was  stormy,  and  the  wilderness  was  dark,  and  in 
my  wanderings  I  lost  my  course,  and  much  travel  and 
time.  The  next  morning  came  with  a  clear  sun,  and 
my  hopes  and  strength  were  renewed.  The  next  night, 
just  as  darkness  began  to  remind  me  of  a  place  for  en 
camping,  I  came  into  a  beaten  track  that  showed  the 
footprints  of  horses.  Passing  along  rapidly,  I  came 
to  a  little  rivulet,  and  following  it  a  short  distance,  I 
found  a  spring  of  pure,  cold  water,  and  quickly  recog 
nized  the  place  of  an  old  encampment,  that  I  had  made 
when  I  first  entered  the  country.  Now  I  felt  fully 
relieved  of  anxiety  as  to  my  course,  and  of  any  un 
certainty  as  to  finding  my  camp.  Again  I  ate  my 
solitary  meal,  and  wrapped  my  blanket  around  me, 
feeling  that  one  more  day  would  reveal  all  to  me  of 
what  I  hoped  and  feared. 

"  My  suspense  was  agonizing,  and  I  started  up  with 
the  full  purpose  to  press  on  till  I  knew  all.  But  dark 
ness  forbade,  and  my  better  judgment  brought  me  back 
to  my  blanket.  But  my  mental  torture  that  night  can 
never  be  forgotten.  My  imagination,  in  my  half-sleep 
ing  condition,  would  picture  to  me  the  emaciated 
features  of  my  men,  calling  for  food,  and  frowning  over 
my  delay.  Daylight  brought  relief,  because  it  allowed 
me  to  struggle  on  again. 

"I  had  gone  a  little  distance,  not  more  than  half 
a  mile,  when,  turning  at  the  foot  of  an  abrupt  preci 
pice,  I  suddenly  stood  before  one  of  my  men !  Pale 
and  thin,  with  matted  hair  and  beard,  I  hardly  knew 
him.  His  blanket  was  drawn  loosely  around  him,  and 
his  eyes  stared  wildly,  as  if  he  were  bewildered.  The 


154  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

recognition  was  mutual,  but  so  sudden  and  unexpected, 
that  neither  had  time  to  prepare  for  the  meeting.  The 
story  was  soon  told. 

"V.,  the  assistant,  had  left  the  camp,  with  one  other 
man,  two  days  before,  and  "on  this  trail,  with  the 
hope  either  of  meeting  me  or  of  reaching  some  place 
of  relief.  He  left  the  others  in  a  starving  condition. 
The  camp  stores  had  been  exhausted,  the  two  bear 
dogs  had  been  killed  and  eaten,  and  the  party  had  been 
for  days  with  only  a  young  pheasant  for  food,  boiled 
with  a  kind  of  wild  nettle,  and  made  into  soup. 

"One  of  the  party,  Fitz  P.,  had  refused  to  eat  of 
the  dogs,  and  was  in  a  very  reduced  condition.  They 
had  not  been  able  to  kill  any  game,  and  such  berries 
and  roots  as  they  dared  eat  were  very  scarce.  They 
had  a  supply  of  coffee,  and  used  it  freely ;  but,  taken 
without  food,  the  effects  of  it  were  unpleasant,  and 
often  painful.  All  had  been  confident  that  I  wTas 
killed  by  the  Indians,  or  lost  in  the  wilderness.  V.  in 
formed  me  that  one  of  the  party,  who  had  left  camp 
with  him,  was  but  a  short  distance  behind,  but  too 
weak  to  proceed.  Giving  V.  some  food,  I  hastened 
on,  and  found  the  poor  fellow  lying  by  his  little  camp 
fire.  Peeling  some  bark  from  the  linden,  and  mixing 
some  flour,  and  pasting  it  to  the  bark,  I  soon  baked 
for  him  a  little  bread.  Leaving  there  a  small  portion 
of  pork,  I  hurried  on  to  camp,  where  I  found  the 
remaining  four  of  my  scattered  band. 

"It  was  a  scene  I  could  not  look  on  without  tears. 
On  a  log  near  by  were  stretched  the  skins  of  our  two 
bear  dogs,  and  their  bones  lay  scattered  about  the 
camp  ground.  In  the  tent  lay  the  men,  prostrate  by 


weakness,  discouraged,  and  given  over  to  despair. 
They  waited,  in  the  confidence  of  my  return,  too  long 
before  they  made  an  effort  to  save  themselves  by  seek 
ing  a  settlement  and  food.  Yet  had  they  left,  the 
probability  is,  they  would  have  been  driven  back  by 
the  barrier  the  tornado  had  thrown  up,  or,  in  forcing 
their  way  through  it,  become  entangled,  and  so  per 
ished.  When  I  entered  the  tent,  they  wept  in  surprise 
and  joy. 

"I  soon  had  food  prepared,  and  dealt  it  out  to  them 
in  small  quantities.  Such  were  their  gnawings  of 
hunger,  after  they  had  once  tasted  food,  that  I  was 
obliged  to  sit  on  the  provisions,  and  keep  them  from 
the  men  by  main  force,  or  they  would  have  eaten  to 
their  death.  All  that  night  their  pleadings  for  food 
were  heart-rending.  Long  after  the  darkness  shut  us 
in,  the  two  absent  ones,  who  left  two  days  before, 
came  back.  -* 

"The  pack-horses  had  strayed  off  into  the  mountains 
before  food  was  wholly  gone,  or  they  would  have  shared 
the  fate  of  the  dogs.  We  hunted  them  up  in  due  time, 
and  as  soon  as  the  men  were  sufficiently  recruited,  we 
slowly-  took  the  back  trail  to  my  depot  of  supplies, 
hidden  under  the  brush  on  the  banks  of  the  Kickapoo. 
After  a  wearisome  march,  and  when  our  provisions  in 
hand  were  nearly  gone,  we  reached  the  cache  only  to 
find  that  it  had  been  plundered  of  its  precious  contents 
by  the  Indians.  A  wandering  squad,  from  the  Root 
River  band,  had  been  on  the  Kickapoo,  fishing,  and, 
discovering  my  tracks  and  signs,  they  had  robbed  us 
of  our  last  hope.  We  had  intended  to  recruit  here, 
and  then  resume  work  in  another  part  of  the  field; 


156  THE    GEXERAL,    OR 

but  now  our  only  chance  was  to  flee  to  the  nearest 
settlement. 

"The  river  here  was  not  passable  without  swim 
ming,  and  our  only  open  way  was  to  ascend  to  a  ford 
ten  miles  above.  This  we  did,  and  in  a.  few  days  we 
all  reached  a  place  of  safety,  and  of  supplies  and  rest. 
Many  articles  of  clothing  were  afterwards  found  in 
the  liquor  shops  of  Prairie  du  Chien,  that  belonged 
to  our  plundered  camp,  but  no  Indian  who  sold  them 
could  be  found.  They  had  gone  up  the  Mississippi 
to  their  wigwams  on  Root  River,  and  we  turned  our 
steps  homeward. 

"In  1844  there  was  great  excitement  about  mineral 
lands.  The  copper  regions  of  Lake  Superior  had  been 
explored,  and  marvellous  stories  were  told  of  the  im 
mense  wealth  hidden  there.  Large  companies  were 
organized  in  the  North  and  South,  and  mineral  lands 
were  sought  after  all  through  the  North-west.  A  kind 
of  mineral  'float'  had  been  issued,  similar  to  a  pre 
emption  right,  and  parties  organized  to  find  mineral 
lands  and  locate  '  floats '  on  them. 

"A  company  was  formed  in  New  Orleans,  with 
General  B.,  an  old  friend  of  mine,  for  its  head.  In 
June  of  this  year,  an  expedition  in  the  interests  of 
this  company  left  Davenport  for  the  head-waters  of 
the  St.  Croix,  in  Wisconsin  Territory,  now  Minnesota. 
Of  this  expedition  I  was  intrusted  with  the  command, 
It  consisted  of  a  surveyor,  two  geologists,  a  full  set  of 
camp  hands  and  Canadian  voyageurs,  with  bateaux 
adapted  to  the  swift  streams  of  the  mountains. 

"We  left  the  head  of  the  St.  Croix  Lake,  about  the 
middle  of  June,  in  a  Mackinaw  boat,  and  after  reach- 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        157 

ing  the  Grand  Falls  of  that  river  and  making  its  por 
tage,  the  party  divided,  a  portion  going  on  by  water, 
and  the  rest  by  land,  with  the  Canadian  ponies.  We 
ascended  to  the  mouth  of  Snake  River,  one  of  the 
principal  tributaries  of  the  St.  Croix,  and  then  fol 
lowed  it  up,  past  the  portage,  into  Cross  Lake,  where 
the  missionary  station  for  the  Chippewas  was  located, 
and  to  the  head  of  Pokegoma  Lake.  Here  we  re 
mained  a  few  days  to  recruit,  and  then  started  for  the 
Porcupine  Mountains,  the  destination  of  the  expe 
dition. 

"  There  was  much  in  this  trip  to  interest  and  please 
me,  specially  as  I  had  the  control  of  my  own  time,  and 
was  general  director  of  the  camp  and  the  movements 
of  the  party.  The  season  of  the  year  was  delightful 
above  all  others,  and  the  country  was  uninhabited, 
except  by  the  Chippewas,  who  were  friendly.  This 
was  their  fishing  season,  and'  as  they  were  very  suc 
cessful,  our  camp  was  abundantly  supplied. 

"  The  scenery  in  this  wild  region  is  most  sublime. 
There  are  no  precipitous  mountains,  but  a  high  range 
of  table-lands,  interspersed  with  lakes,  the  most  beau 
tiful  and  romantic  that  one  can  imagine.  Little 
streams  of  the  purest  water  run  at  your  feet,  alive 
with  the  speckled  trout,  while  the  lakes,  bays,  and 
inlets,  shaded  by  the  sweeping  boughs  of  the  pine, 
spruce,  and  birch,  invite  you  to  their  cool  retreats,  and 
sing  their  lullaby  over  your  camp.  Sometimes  the 
little  waterfall,  or  the  more  mighty  cataract,  would 
recall  one  from  his  reverie,  and  draw  him  to  its  side, 
where  he  would  sit  in  the  spray  and  admire  the 
never  ending,  never  wearying  music  of  the  water. 


158  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

The  stillness  and  the  beauty  of  sueh  a  scene,  un- 
marred  by  any  touch  of  civilization,  could  never  fail 
to  call  forth  adoration  and  praise,  and  fill  the  soul  with 
love  for  Him  who  made  the  mountain  and  the  plain 
and  the  wilderness  without  inhabitant. 

"The  geological  survey  was  made,  specimens  ob 
tained,  and  land  located.  At  one  time  in  our  exploring 
we  were  near  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior.  The 
survey  being  completed,  the  expedition  returned  to 
the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix  and  disbanded. 

"  Several  of  us  then  made  up  a  new  and  smaller 
party,  and  visited  St.  Paul,  then  consisting  of  a  few 
cabins,  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  and  Minnehaha,  and 
Fort  Snelling  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Peter's. 

"  There  the  Sioux  lived  at  ease  in  his  native  forest. 
His  wigwam  stood  on  the  banks  of  the  Minnehaha 
unmolested,  and  his  children  played  on  the  camping- 
grounds  of  his  fathers.  Cities  now  cover  the  ashes  of 
his  lodge,  and  where  he  then  chased  the  deer,  elk,  and 
buffalo,  the  husbandman  gathers  in  the  harvest  of 
civilization.  The  midnight  lamentation  of  the  Indian 
mother,  the  Rachel  of  the  Red  Man,  over  the  grave 
of  her  child,  is  now  exchanged  for  the  music  of  the 
maidens  of  the  pale  faces,  and  the  wild  notes  of  Indian 
lovers  are  replaced  by  the  hum  and  bustle  of  the  set 
tlements.  The  Laughing  Water  of  his  native  forest 
has  been  immortalized  in  song,  while  the  footsteps  of 
the  Indian  have  followed  in  his  trail  of  doom  over  the 
prairies  of  the  Far  West." 

The  General  closed  his  story  for  the  night  with  a 
touch  of  sadness  in  his  tones.  He  pitied,  as  he  always 


pitied,  the  Indian,  feeling  that  he  was  the  victim  of  a 
heathen  religion  and  superior  race.  Cupidity,  more 
than  Christianity,  has  prevailed  in  the  earlier  dealings 
of  the  whites  with  the  Indians,  so  that  our  treatment 
has  debased  rather  than  elevated  them;  and  what  we 
called  "Indian  outrages"  were  but  their  natural  and 
national  modes  of  self-defence,  according  to  their  Law 
of  Nations,  which,  unfortunately  for  them,  they  had 
no  Vattel  to  expound  and  defend.  The  General  had 
rarely  experienced  anything  but  kindness  from  their 
hands  during  twenty-five  years  of  intercourse  with 
them,  more  or  less  intimate  and  exposed.  And  while 
thus  detailing  the  beginnings  of  imperial  success  in 
the  founding  of  new  states,  he  felt  keenly  the  sacri 
fice  of  one  race  for  the  elevation  and  glory  of  another. 
We,  the  mean  while,  were  considering  only  the  sacri 
fices  of  our  own  race  in  this  gigantic  march  of  western 
progress. 

It  costs  something  of  white  toil  and  hardship  and 
sorrow  to  turn  a  wilderness  into  the  fruitful  field ;  and 
these  continuous  narratives  of  The  General  were  press 
ing  this  truth  on  us  nightly  and  more  amply.  I  felt  it  the 
more,  coming  from  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony,  where 
two  hundred  years  stood  between  my  childhood  home 
and  the  wigwam  of  Samoset.  To  this  pioneer  work 
of  the  surveyor  must  succeed  the  blazed  tree,  the 
emigrant  wagon  and  cabin,  the  rude  trail  from  settle 
ment  to  settlement,  the  ford  and  bridge,  the  log  school- 
house  and  church,  the  larger  villages,  farms,  popula 
tion,  wealth,  and  all  the  powers  of  a  Christian  civiliza 
tion.  Those  improvements  and  forces  have  followed 
up  in  the  wandering  and  lost  steps  of  the  surveyor 


160  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

among  the  Sugar  Loaves;  and  a  heavy  population, 
with  cities  and  farms,  highways,  public  buildings, 
and  thrift,  are  now  on  the  ground  where  his  men  ate 
their  bear  dogs  and  the  soup  of  the  young  pheasant. 
Crawford  and  Yernon  counties,  the  present  Kickapoo 
country,  could  then  muster  only  one  scattered  camp 
of  white  men  and  a  pack-horse.  The  few  cabins  of 
St.  Paul  have  grown  to  a  noble  city,  and  the  Minne- 
haha  is  now  the  Laughing  Water,  among  spindles 
and  lathes,  belts  and  cogs,  huge  wheels,  millstones,  and 
manufactories. 


161 


NINTH  NIGHT, 

SOMETHING  besides  story-telling  and  listening 
was  going  on  at  our  camp  fire  last  night.  While 
all  ears  were  attentive  to  The  General,  and  every  hearer 
floundered  along  with  him,  in  sympathy,  through  the 
windfall  and  overflow  of  the  Kickapoo,  Dock  and 
Rube  caught  every  word,  as  well  as  the  best  of  us, 
while  they  worked  hard  in  plucking,  and  roasting,  and 
basting  an  extra  two  dozen  of  ducks.  When  the  story 
wound  up  with  the  plundering  of  the  cache  by  the 
Hoot  River  Indians,  the  task  of  the  cooks  was  nearly 
complete,  and  before  the  last  of  us  left  the  crackling 
brands  for  our  blankets,  the  twenty-four  ducks,  plump, 
brown,  and  crisp,  lay  cooling  off  in  tent  number  eight. 
The  case  was  thus  :  — 

Six  or  eight  miles  inland  from  our  grounds  were 
some  lakes  and  lagoons,  where,  in  a  former  hunt  of 
the  club,  they  had  found  large  supplies  of  geese, 
coming  in  from  nightfall  till  midnight.  A  few  of  us 
proposed  to  make  a  stand  hunt  there  the  following 
night.  This  would  necessitate  our  absence  from  camp 
two  days  and  one  night,  and  hence  the  need  of  the 
extra  cooking. 

Bright  and  early,  with  rations  for  two  days,  and  a 
blanket  for  a  bivouac  after  our  evening  shooting,  we 
11 


162  THE    GENERAL,    OB 

set  forth,  our  only  regret  being  the  suspension  for  one 
night  of  the  personal  history  of  The  General.  Our 
route,  much  of  the  way,  lay  over  bottom  prairie.  A 
chicken  or  duck  broke  now  and  then  the  tedium  of  our 
march,  as  we  used  a  warm  October  day,  sweating  under 
our  burden.  Indeed,  the  labor  would  have  had  a  strong 
resemblance  to  work  if  we  had  done  it  under  pay. 
Lucky  had  it  been  for  us,  had  we  been  drawing  pay; 
for  when  we  came  to  the  lakes  and  lagoons,  we  found 
only  blank  and  dry  mud  bottoms.  The  drought  had 
been  severe  in  all  that  section  of  Illinois,  and  the  shoal 
bodies  of  water  had  dried  up.  We  visited  the  familiar 
stands,  where,  the  year  previous,  they  had  knocked 
down  so  many  geese  w-hen  coming  on  their  night  feed 
ing-grounds  ;  but  the  reeds,  and  grass,  and  wild  rice 
were  shrivelled  and  brown,  and  the  water  was  all  gone, 
leaving  a  baked  and  cracked  lake  bottom.  We  lunched 
famously  by  a  shaded  spring,  and  then  hunted  leisurely 
back  to  camp,  knowing  better  than  ever  before  what  is 
meant  by  "  a  wild-goose  chase." 

And  why  not  we  know,  as  well  as  anybody?  A 
wild-goose  chase  is  not  the  worst  a  man  can  make. 
Some  persons  follow  smaller  game  for  years  over  the 
pavements,  and  fare  no  better  than  we  did.  The  hunt 
itself  was  royal ;  what  we  caught  was  quite  another 
thing.  The  chase  has  always  been  royal  sport. 
Charles  III.  of  Spain  run  the  stag  or  wild  boar  eight 
hours  every  day,  except  the  Sabbath  and  great  holi 
days  of  the  church.  Forbidden  by  his  confessor  to 
hunt  on  those  days,  he  had  an  aviary  carried  into  his 
park,  and  shot  the  birds  as  they  were  let  fly  one  by 
one.  And  the  melancholic  Burton  tells  us  that  the 


kings  of  Persia  were  accustomed  to  hawk  butterflies 
with  sparrows  and  starlings,  that  they  had  trained  for 
this  petty  falconry.  How  much  above  kings  were  we, 
in  chasing  geese,  even  though  we  failed.  Louis  XIIL, 
when  a  boy,  had  the  same  small  sport  with  butter 
flies.  Indeed,  I  have  seen  many  grown-up  people 
chasing  butterflies,  though  they  call  them  by  other 
names. 

After  you  have  turned  aside  from  the  great  and 
proper  aim  of  life,  to  make  this  world  wiser  and  better 
by  your  residence  in  it,  and  have  dropped  away  into 
pursuits  of  pleasure  and  selfishness,  your  game  may  as 
well  be  in  lakes  as  in  counting-rooms,  country  res 
idences,  ownership  of  railroads  and  steam  lines.  It 
is  all  geese,  only  differing  in  size  and  color.  A  span, 
a  yacht,  a  month  at  Saratoga  or  Newport,  the  only 
shawl  of  the  kind  this  side  of  Cashmere  —  it  is  all  a 
wild-goose  affair,  and  half  the  adult  world  are  in  the 
chase.  If  Branch  Pierce,  the  old  Plymouth  hunter,  to 
whose  cabin  Webster  made  his  annual  pilgrimage,  kill 
in  fifty  years  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven  deer  with 
the  same  gun,  why  has  he  not  followed  a  pleasure  as 
honorable  for  manhood,  and  as  useful  for  mankind,  as 
he  who  hunts  his  pleasure  in  a  "  corner  "  of  the  corn 
exchange,  where  he  doubles  the  price  of  each  kernel 
for  the  poor  consumer,  and  bags  his  two  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  thousand  dollars  to  make  his  idle  sons  fast 
young  men  ? 

We  all  must  hunt  geese  of  some  kind,  and  probably 
the  smaller  the  better.  In  the  hunt  referred  to  we 
made  a  failure ;  but  our  camp  fellows  were  well  re- 


164  THE    GENERAL,    OK 

signed  to  our  disappointment,  as  it  brought  The 
General  before  us,  without  the  loss  of  a  night.  We 
came  soon  and  easily  into  listening  attitude,  wondering 
what  new  adventures,  in  an  energetic  and  wonderful 
life,  were  now  to  be  opened  up  to  us.  We  were  not 
kept  long  in  suspense. 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        165 


OVER  THE  PLAINS. 

"After  the  mineral  lands  expedition,  I  was  engaged 
for  years  in  surveying  the  public  lands  of  my  own  state. 
The  Indian,  the  buffalo,  and  the  elk  had  fled  before 
the  swarms  of  immigrants  that  were  filling  our  new 
lands.  The  last  canoe  had  crossed  our  Missouri  boun 
dary  westward,  and  the  original  owners  of  the  state 
had  found  a  new  home  in  Kansas  Territory. 

"  California  had  given  hints  of  her  hidden  treasures, 
and  a  wonderful  excitement  followed.  The  more  ven 
turesome  and  enterprising  of  our  western  men,  flushed 
with  the  visions  of  immense  and  easy  wealth,  began  to 
traverse  the  Plains  and  American  Desert  —  so  called 
then  —  and  to  climb  the  snow-capped  mountains,  to 
reap  the  golden  harvest.  Many  fancied  that  the  pre 
cious  metals  could  be  had  there  with  only  the  labor 
of  scraping  them  up. 

"In  1849  all  public  surveys  were  again  suspended. 
Business  of  all  kinds  became  dull  in  the  West.  At  this 
time  a  favorable  opportunity  presented  itself  for  me  to 
gratify  a  long-cherished  and  ardent  desire  to  visit  the 
Plains,  the  Desert,  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  the  shores 
of  the  Pacific.  This  project  had  been  in  my  mind  for 
some  time.  I  had  watched  the  progress  and  westward 
movement  of  civilization  with  deep  interest,  hoping  and 
expecting  that  in  the  course  of  events  my  foot  would 
follow  in  the  trail  of  the  Indian,  and  my  face  be  turned, 
with  his,  towards  the  setting  sun. 


166  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

"  The  Mormons  had  sought  the  valley  of  Salt  Lake, 
\xhich  was  their  only  possible  resting-place  between 
the  Mississippi  and  the  Sacramento,  and  from  three  to 
five  months  were  consumed  by  them  in  the  trip.  Nu 
merous  tribes  of  hostile  Indians  at  that  time  lived  on 
the  route,  and  but  few  of  the  emigrants  had  knowledge 
or  judgment  enough  to  arrange  an  outfit  for  such  a 
journey,  or  conduct  it  safely.  Wagons  were  made 
too  heavy ;  large  quantities  of  unnecessary  provision, 
machinery,  tools,  and  trumpery,  were  loaded  in.  So 
the  animals  were  worn  down  before  they  came  to  the 
mountains  and  feeding-places,  and  their  bones  were 
left  by  the  way,  and  the  emigrant  was  doomed  to  pursue 
his  journey  as  best  he  could  on  foot. 

"  In  the  spring  of  1850  the  opportunity  long  de 
sired  offered  itself  to  me,  and  I  embraced  it.  With  a 
light  two-horse  wagon,  five  horses,  two  men,  and  such 
provision  and  clothing  as  good  sense  suggested  for  the 
trip,  I  crossed  the  State  of  Iowa  to  Council  Bluffs,  be 
fore  the  frost  had  left  the  ground.  We  went  into 
camp  at  St.  Francis,  a  village  of  huts  six  miles  below, 
on  the  Missouri. 

"  At  the  request  of  many  enterprising  men,  I  prom 
ised  to  make  observations  on  the  route,  and  report  on 
the  feasibility  of  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific — a  project 
just  then  starting  up.  Always  ready  and  willing  to 
assist  in  the  progress  and  welfare  of  the  West,  I  took 
with  me  my  surveying  instruments,  and  such  other 
apparatus  as  would  enable  me  to  make  a  preliminary 
topographical  survey.  This  survey  I  made,  and  re 
ported  on  the  same,  after  my  arrival  in  California,  giv 
ing  the  latitude,  longitude,  and  altitude  of  all  the  more 


CAMP.         167 

prominent  landmarks  and  stopping-places  on  my  line 
of  travel.  This  report  was  published  at  the  time  in  the 
New  York  Herald,  and  extensively  copied,  as  the  first 
one  ever  made,  I  think,  for  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific. 

"  The  season  was  cold  and  vegetation  backward. 
All  who  passed  over  the  Plains  that  year  can  well  re 
member  the  trials  and  hardship  endured.  Our  en 
campment  below  Council  Bluffs  was  long  and  tedious, 
while  we  waited  for  the  grass  to  start. 

"During  these  many  days  of  delay  I  visited  the 
country  up  and  down  the  Missouri,  Platte,  and  smaller 
rivers.  I  visited  Kanesville,  then  the  great  Mormon 
rendezvous,  and  point  of  departure  for  Salt  Lake.  I 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  the  Mormon  elders  and 
missionaries,  and  acquired  a  good  understanding  of 
much  of  their  doctrine.  The  Boyer  River  I  also  trav 
ersed,  from  its  mouth  to  its  source  in  the  vast  prairies. 
At  this  time  the  Otto  and  Omaha  Indians  were  living 
along  the  Missouri,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Platte  to 
the  Big  Sioux,  and  I  travelled  freely  among  them. 
The  mission  established  by  the  government  among 
them  was  then  an  active  institution,  and  at  a  place 
since  called  Bellevue.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Kinney  had 
charge  of  the  mission,  and  school  attached.  Here  I 
attended  church  during  our  delay,  and  had  ample  op 
portunities  to  see  the  work  of  the  missionaries  in  turn 
ing  the  Indians  from  the  darkness  of  barbarism,  to  the 
light  of  the  Gospel. 

"  Long  will  be  remembered  the  days  I  spent  on  the 
grounds  of  the  old  Omaha  mission.  He  who  all  his 
life  has  only  read  of  the  trials  and  hardships  of  the 
missionary  should  have  been  there  with  me  to  see  and 


168  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

realize  the  labors  of  one  who  has  set  apart  his  life  to 
so  good  a  work.  The  school  contained  about  seventy- 
five  scholars  of  both  sexes.  The  only  hope  of  the 
missionary  is  in  the  children.  These  were  taught 
daily,  and  in  some  the  progress  was  astonishing,  while 
others  were  like  the  untamed  fawn,  whose  eyes  and 
ears  are  ever  so  open  and  alert  that  it  can  scarcely 
pause  to  crop  the  grass  and  appease  its  hunger. 

'.'  Many  of  the  girls  boarded  at  the  mission,  and  were 
there  taught  the  various  branches  of  female  employ 
ment.  On  the  Sabbath  all  were  gathered  in  the  log 
chapel,  together  with  any  stray  whites  who  chose  to 
come  in.  On  these  occasions  you  would  see  the  father 
and  mother  of  the  scholars,  seated  around  the  sides  of 
the  room,  evidently  feeling  that  it  was  the  place  of  the 
Great  Spirit.  As  the  service  was  about  to  commence, 
the  aged  warrior  wrould  come  in,  bowing  in  solemn 
silence,  as  if  he  knew  it  to  be  the  place  where  the  God 
of  the  white  man  was  worshipped. 

"  The  time  drew  on,  though  very  tardily,  when  we 
must  take  up  our  line  of  march.  The  organization  of 
our  company  had  taken  place  by  choosing  me  as  The 
General." 

Here  one  of  the  lads  interposed  to  inquire  if  that 
was  where  he  got  his  title  as  General,  and  he  was  in 
formed  that  his  commission  bore  that  date,  and  place, 
and  authority.  The  General  resumed  :  — 

"  AVe  passed  by-laws  and  resolutions  to  regulate  our 
camping  and  marching,  feeling  that  nothing  but  order, 
authority,  and  due  subordination  to  the  will  of  the 


TWELVE    EIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        169 

whole,  deliberately  expressed,  could  insure  us  a  safe 
trip  over  so  long  a  route,  and  through  so  many  dan 
gers,  as  we  knew  would  beset  us.  For  the  company 
consisted  of  sixty  men,  one  hundred  and  eighty-five 
horses,  and  twenty-seven  wagons. 

"  On  the  20th  of  April  we  broke  up  camp  and  began 
the  crossing  of  the  Missouri.  This  we  completed  the 
next  day,  and  went  into  camp  on  the  Nebraska  side, 
preparatory  to  a  final  departure.  This  was  our  last 
camping  in  sight  of  a  settlement.  There  was  no  grass 
as  yet,  but  the  great  uneasiness  of  the  company  to 
move  carried  the  vote  for  a  start. 

"It  was  Saturday  night,  and  all  had  their  tents 
pitched,  and  horses  and  mules  cared  for.  The  moon 
in  its  splendor  seemed  to  vie  with  the  bright  and  blazing 
camp-fires,  as  I  took  my  official  round  to  see  that  all 
was  in  trim  for  a  start.  At  nine  o'clock  the  bugle 
sounded  from  the  tent  of  The  General,  and  all  were 
soon  gathered  there  to  hear  of  plans  and  regulations 
for  our  travelling.  In  a  few  words  I  reminded  the 
company  of  their  readiness  to  depart,  of  the  poor  pros 
pects  for  forage,  and  of  the  constant  care  required  to 
keep  up  the  strength  of  their  animals  in  the  first 
stages  of  the  expedition.  I  also  very  feelingly  re 
minded  them  of  our  departure  now  from  home,  and 
friends,  and  settlements,  and  that  we  were  about  to 
strike  out  on  unknown  prairies,  and  to  encounter  trials 
and  difficulties  of  which  as  yet  we  were  totally  igno 
rant.  I  also  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  next 
day  would  be  the  Sabbath,  a  day  of  rest  for  man  and 
beast,  and  that  while  I  had  the  honor  to  command,  the 
expedition  would  not  move  on  that  day. 


170  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

"  Monday  morning,  April  22,  the  announced  day  for 
the  departure  of  the  train,  came  at  last,  bright  and  beau 
tiful.  It  was  one  of  those  April  mornings  when  the  blue 
bird  sings,  and  the  early  robin  is  seen,  returned  from 
the  sunny  South  —  a  day  well  calculated  to  call  up 
sweet  recollections  of  home,  and  all  its  endearments. 
The  camp  was  in  motion  at  an  early  hour,  and  at  six 
o'clock  the  bugle  sounded  for  the  train  to  move  off 
according  to  their  assigned  number.  Long  will  that 
beautiful  morning  be  remembered  by  the  survivors  of 
the  company,  as  the  train  wound  around  the  point  of 
bluff  that  overlooks  the  valley  of  the  Platte. 

"As  the  train  rose  on  the  high  prairie,  from  which 
could  be  seen  the  beautiful  land  of  Iowa,  that  lovely 
spot,  which  contained  to  many  in  the  expedition  all  that 
was  dear  to  them  on  earth,  and  as  its  rich  and  undu 
lating  plains  receded  from  view,  many  a  silent  prayer 
went  up,  and  many  a  tear  was  brushed  away.  So  we 
bade  farewell  to  the  c  States '  and  entered  the  Indian 
country. 

"  Great  was  the  undertaking,  and  difficult  the  over 
land  route  that  day  to  California.  None  knew  the 
dangers  and  destinies  of  those  who  undertook  it.  The 
parting  from  home  was  a  sad  farewell,  and  this  was  re 
newed  as  the  wanderer  passed  the  border  of  the  set 
tlements. 

"Forage  had  become  scarce  on  the  Missouri,  and, 
though  the  grass  had  not  grown  sufficiently  to  sustain 
the  animals,  it  seemed  almost  imperative  to  move  on. 
For  more  than  two  weeks  after  starting  we  fed  the 
stock  on  flour  wet  up  with  chopped  dry  grass  gathered 
from  the  prairie,  and  on  browse,  when  we  could  find  it. 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUXTERs'    CAMP.       171 

Along  the  Platte  and  Loup  Fork  Rivers  we  obtained 
for  this  purpose  limbs  of  the  linwood,  mulberry,  and 
elm.  The  cavalcade  moved  slowly  to  the  Elkhorn 
River,  and  thence  to  the  Loup  Fork,  a  distance  of  one 
hundred  miles,  to  a  crossing  about  five  miles  above  its 
mouth.  Some  enterprising  emigrants  had  made  a  flat- 
boat  here,  and  were  keeping  a  kind  of  ferry,  the  river 
being  high,  and  not  fordable,  except  in  July  and  August. 
There  were  one  or  two  companies,  waiting  to  be  set 
over  when  we  arrived.  Some  days  the  winds  were  so 
high  that  not  one  team  could  be  passed  over.  We  went 
into  camp  to  await  our  turn  for  the  flat-boat,  there  being 
timber  and  browse  in  abundance,  and  old  grass  that  we 
could  prepare  for  our  teams. 

"  While  encamped  here,  I  started  out  with  my  old 
and  tried  friend  C.,  who  had  been  my  companion  on 
many  of  my  Iowa  expeditions,  for  a  hunting  tour  up 
the  Loup  Fork.  There  had  been  a  recent  battle  be 
tween  the  Sioux  and  Pawnees,  who  fought  each  other, 
on  every  occasion,  somewhere  on  this  river,  and  we 
were  very  desirous  of  finding  the  ground.  After  trav 
elling  one  day  till  nearly  night,  we  came  to  the  bloody 
field  in  a  willow  thicket  near  the  bank  of  the  river. 

"The  attack  had  been  made  by  the  Sioux.  The 
Pawnees' were  out  on  a  hunt,  and,  as  usual,  encamped 
in  a  thicket  to  hide  themselves  from  their  enemies. 
But  the  keen  eye  of  the  Sioux  discovered  their  retreat, 
and  fell  on  them  in  the  night,  killing  six.  As  we  ap 
proached  the  battle-field,  we  found  on  the  edge  of  the 
prairie,  about  a  hundred  yards  from  the  site  of  their 
camp,  a  number  of  small  holes  dug,  not  more  than  a 
foot  in  diameter,  and  an  equal  number  of  small  poles, 


172  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

or  sticks,  placed  by  them,  pointing  in  different  direc 
tions,  showing  whence  the  enemy  came,  and  which  way 
they  retreated. 

"  Along  the  side  of  these  holes  lay  twelve  small 
sticks  of  willow,  about  a  foot  long,  and  of  the  size  of  a 
pipe-stem,  each  end  being  finely  splintered,  like  a  broom. 
These  we  could  not  interpret,  though  both  of  us  were 
acquainted  with  the  dumb  language  of  Indian  signs. 
But  at  the  place  of  battle  in  the  willows,  and  where 
the  dead  fell,  the  signs  were  more  intelligible. 

"In  front  of  the  lodge,  or  rather  of  the  place  where 
it  was  —  for  the  poles  were  still  standing  there  stood  —  a 
straight  willow  pole,  about  five  feet  high,  and  painted 
red,  bent  over  a  little  at  the  top,  from  which  was 
suspended  an  Indian  effigy,  cut  from  undressed  elk 
hide,  painted  and  hanging  by  the  scalp  lock.  On  each 
arm  were  cut  six  notches,  representing  the  six  Pawnees 
killed  in  the  engagement.  On  the  top  of  this  pole  was 
placed  a  brass  finger-ring,  broken,  to  show  that  the 
enemy  had  professed  friendship,  but  broken  it.  This 
was  an  allusion  to  a  treaty  of  friendship  made  between 
these  two  tribes  not  more  than  six  months  before. 
About  four  inches  apart  from  the  top  of  the  pole  down 
ward  were  tied  six  pipes  full  of  tobacco,  each  in  a  rag, 
with  a  lock  of  the  hair  of  the  deceased  Indian  attached 
to  it.  This  was  an  offering  to  the  Great  Spirit,  that  he 
might  supply  the  departed  with  tobacco  to  smoke  forever 
in  the  hunting-grounds  of  the  Gitche  Manitou.  On  each 
bide  of  this  pole,  and  not  far  distant,  two  others  of 
smaller  dimensions  were  placed,  from  the  top  of  each 
of  which  swung,  like  an  old  tavern  sign,  a  piece  of 
grained  elk  skin  about  eighteen  inches  square.  On  one 


CAMP.         173 

of  these  were  painted  a  large  number  of  horse  and 
mule  feet,  signifying  the  number  of  such  animals  the 
enemy  had.  On  the  other  side  the  number  of  the 
enemy  was  represented  by  so  many  Indian  heads, 
painted  with  scalp  locks.  On  the  other  parchment 
was  represented  the  number  killed  by  each  party,  and 
the  number  of  horses  taken.  From  this  spot  com 
menced  a  line  of  poles,  with  small  flags  or  bits  of  rags 
on  the  top  of  each,  pointing  in  the  direction  in  which 
the  enemy  went. 

"  In  addition  to  all  this,  and  the  most  interesting  of 
all,  were  the  rude  hieroglyphics  on  the  ashes  and  sand 
around  the  camp,  where  their  religious  ceremonies  took 
place,  and  the  offerings  were  made  to  appease  the  Evil 
Spirit.  The  dead  of  both  parties  were  carried  off- 
six  Pawnees  and  three  Sioux  —  after  this  manner :  Long 
poles  were  cut  and  attached  by  one  end,  two  for  each 
horse,  to  either  side  of  the  saddle.  The  other  ends 
draped  on  the  ground.  In  this  way  a  kind  of  litter 

Z3t~>  O  * 

was  made,  and  to  it  the  dead  were  lashed  and  drawn 
away  to  their  village.  It  is  their  custom  to  remove  the 
wounded  in  the  same  way. 

"The  funeral  obsequies  differ  among  the  different 
tribes,  as  do  also  their  customs  of  courtship  and  mar 
riage  ;  and  while  we  are  waiting,  as  it  were,  for  the 
ferryman  at  the  crossing  of  the  Loup  Fork,  I  may  as 
well  tell  you  something  of  the  latter. 

"  With  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  a  young  man  selects  his 
future  wife  at  some  feast  or  dance,  and  then  informs 
his  mother,  who  calls  on  the  mother  of  the  girl.  If  an 
arrangement  for  the  match  is  made  by  the  mothers,  a 
time  is  fixed,  and  the  lover  goes  to  the  lodge  of  the 


174  THE    GENERAL,    OB 

girl's  parents  in  the  night,  when  all  are  asleep,  or  are 
supposed  to  be.  He  finds  the  matches,  which  have 
been  provided  for  the  occasion  from  the  pitch  of  the 
pine  tree,  and  lighting  these,  he  soon  discovers  where 
his  intended  sleeps.  He  awakes  her,  holds  the  light 
to  his  own  face,  that  she  may  know  him,  and  then 
places  it  close  to  her  face.  If  she  blows  it  out,  the 
ceremony  is  over,  and  he  appears  in  the  lodge  the 
next  morning  as  one  of  the  family.  If  she  does  not 
blow  it  out,  he  leaves  the  lodge,  and  the  light  is  left 
to  burn  till  it  expires. 

"  But  the  next  day  he  will  place  himself  in  full  view 
of  her  wigwam,  and  play  his  flute.  The  young  women 
there  assembled  will  then  go  out,  one  by  one,  to  see 
whom  he  desires.  As  they  approach  singly  he  changes 
the  tune,  for  each  successive  one,  to  discord  and  confu 
sion,  till  his  intended  appears.  When  she  shows  herself 
in  the  door  of  the  lodge,  he  plays  the  soft,  sweet  notes 
of  a  lover,  until  she  retires.  She  does  not  approach 
him.  Her  appearance  while  he  plays  encourages  him ; 
and  so  at  night  he  goes  again  to  her  lodge,  and  this 
second  time  he  is  generally  successful. 

"During  the  first  year  of  the  marriage,  they  ascer 
tain  whether  they  can  live  together  in  peace  and 
happiness.  If  'incompatibility'  appear,  they  sepa 
rate,  and  try  again  for  new  partners. 

"  The  courtship  of  the  Chippewa  is  still  more  sim 
ple.  The  lover  appears  at  the  door  of  the  wigwam 
of  his  desired  bride  with  a  bundle  of  furs,  peltries, 
beads,  and  wampum.  He  enters  and  lays  the  gifts  at  her 
feet,  and  then  retires  a  short  distance  from  the  lodge 
to  await  her  decision.  If  he  is  accepted,  she  soon 


appears  at  the  door,  and  holds  aside  the  curtain  that  he 
may  enter.  If  he  is  rejected,  his  furs  and  other  pres 
ents  are  suddenly  thrown  out  of  the  lodge,  and  he 
picks  them  up  and  retires,  as  if  they  were  '  the 
mitten.' 

"It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  however,  that  these  lovers 
are  strangers  to  each  other.  Long  years  of  acquaint 
ance  and  courtship  may  have  passed  between  them; 
but  the  ceremony  of  the  offered  hand  and  acceptance 
must  be  carefully  regarded. 

"  With  some  tribes  the  negotiations  are  made  by  the 
parents,  when  a  certain  number  of  horses  and  blankets 
is  given  for  the  bride,  and  she  is  driven  or  forced  off, 
like  a  slave  to  the  market,  which  the  Indian  wives  so 
generally  become,  after  marriage.  For  they  plant  and 
harvest  the  corn,  cut  and  pack  in  the  wood  to  the 
lodge,  move  the  wigwam  in  summer  and  winter,  rain 
and  snow,  without  any  aid  from  husband,  father, 
brother,  or  son.  They  skin  the  game,  dress  the  furs, 
cure  the  meat,  dry  the  fish,  gather  the  rice,  and  cook 
the  victuals,  while  the  lazy  Indian  lies  on  the  mat  and 
enjoys  the  fruit  of  the  wife's  labors. 

"As  to  the  burial  customs,  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  Winne- 
bagoes  and  Potawatamies,  bury  their  dead  in  a  sitting 
position,  with  the  body  left  above  ground  as  high  as 
the  ribs.  The  blanket  is  thrown  loosely  over  the 
shoulders ;  the  paint  is  in  one  hand,  and  the  pipe  and 
tobacco  in  the  other.  The  grave  is  enclosed  with  high 
pales,  set  closely  together  in  the  ground,  so  that  no 
animal  can  enter.  The  Sioux  and  Chippewas  bury 
above  ground,  if  I  may  so  speak,  on  a  scaffolding. 
This  is  built  with  poles  and  bark,  often  ten  feet  high, 


176  THE    GENERAL,    OK 

and  sometimes  in  the  brandies  of  the  trees.  The  body 
is  prepared  for  the  funeral  rite  by  closely  wrapping 
it  in  blankets,  and  the  clothing  of  the  deceased. 
When  placed  on  the  scaffold  it  is  covered  with  bark 
to  prevent  the  birds  from  devouring  it. 

"It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  the  traveller  in  the 
Sioux  country  to  find,  a  short  distance  from  the  lodge, 
the  dead  body  of  a  child,  wrapped  in  its  cradle  of 
bark,  swinging  from  the  limbs  in  full  view  of  the 
mother's  watchful  eye.  She  guards  it  sacredly  from 
the  rude  touch  of  man  or  beast.  She  listens  to  the 
sighing  wind,  as  it  rocks  the  precious  burden,  and  adds 
her  wild  lullaby  for  the  spirit  of  the  departed. 

"  Some  tribes  lay  their  dead  on  the  top  of  the 
ground,  and  cover  them  over  with  stones  and  earth; 
but  very  few  of  them  bury,  like  the  white  man.  It  is 
the  custom  of  all  the  tribes  to  visit  the  graves  of  their 
dead  often,  and  for  years.  A  noted  chieftain's  grave 
will  often  be  surrounded  by  his  warriors  and  braves, 
and  the  most  bitter  lamentations  will  be  sent  forth, 
awakening  hill  and  dale  with  their  sorrow.  So  with 
the  mother  at  the  grave  of  her  child,  and  the  maiden 
at  that  of  her  lover.  Bitter  wailings  may  be  heard 
at  midnight,  but  none  goes  near  to  comfort  the  sor 
rowing. 

"Of  their  sports  and  pastimes  the  Indian  has  more 
than  the  white  man.  Besides  their  feasts  and  dances, 
they  have,  in  the  most  of  the  tribes,  the  great  game 
of  ball,  at  which  live  hundred  can  play  on  a  side. 
Horses,  guns,  blankets,  and  trinkets  are  staked,  and  the 
winning  party  takes  the  stakes. 

"The  Indian  is  also  an  inveterate  gambler,  and  will 


CAMP.        177 

lay  down  his  last  blanket,  or  even  the  wampum  of  his 
squaw,  to  indulge  this  passion.  They  play  with  cards, 
but  it  is  a  game  different  from  any  known  to  white 
men. 

"  Well,  at  last  the  ferryman  is  ready  to  pass  us  over, 
and  the  men  are  weary  of  delay.  The  gold  fields  of 
California  glisten  before  them,  and  they  are  eager  to 
press  on.  But  ferriage  over  the  Loup  Fork  by  night 
is  a  dangerous  thing.  We  must  wait  now  till  morn- 


With  the  promise  of  pleasant  rambles  up  the  Platte, 
through  the  Pawnee  country,  and  among  elk  and  buf 
falo,  at  our  next  session  of  the  Swan  Lake  encamp 
ment,  we  broke  up  for  the  night. 
12 


178  THE    GENEKAL,   OR 


TENTH   NIGHT. 

AD  AY  of  miscellanies.  The  keen  edge  of  hunting 
has  been  wearing  off,  and  we  have  gradually  come 
into  it  as  a  routine  of  business.  N"o  new  specimens  of 
game  are  expected.  We  have,  ranged  from  the  jack- 
snipe  to  the  lordly  turkey  and  royal  swan,  and  from 
squirrel  to  coon.  No  new  localities  are  to  be  hunted 
up.  We  have  trailed  to  the  outer  edge  of  our  saucer 
of  bottom  land,  and  know  every  creek,  lagoon,  and 
puddle.  Incidents  to  the  game  or  ourselves,  by  land 
or  water,  are  no  longer  extraordinary  among  twenty 
men  daily  seeking  them ;  the  exciting,  and  the  marvel 
lous,  and  the  hair-breadths,  have  come  by  their  abun 
dance  to  be  ordinary,  expected,  and  commonplace.  In 
the  generous  natural  supply  of  game  on  our  grounds, 
we  are  not  driven  to  hunt  to  live  ;  we  merely  live  here 
to  hunt. 

So  to-day  there  has  been  no  great  enthusiasm  for  the 
sport,  and  no  wide  ranges  were  planned.  It  has  rather 
been  a  day  of  all  works.  We  made  short  excursions, 
or  shot  what  came  in  near  on  the  lake  shore,  and  down 
the  outlet.  A  little  municipal  or  philosophical  phenom 
enon  engrossed  the  attention  of  our  canvas  village  early 
in  the  day,  and  thus  :  — 

After  leaving  The  General  and  his  expedition  at  the 
Loup  Fork  Ferry  last  night,  and  betaking  ourselves  in 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS1    CAMP.       179 

an  orderly  way,  as  good  hunters  will,  to  our  lodges,  one 
of  the  tents  was  warmed  up  by  a  little  pocket  stove, 
with  a  three-inch  pipe,  for  a  supplement  to  the  evening 
cheer.  The  inmates,  a  little  invited  company,  sang,  and 
told  stories,  and  laughed,  and  did  a  dozen  other  merry 
and  innocent  things,  till  the  wee  bit  of  a  stove  became 
suddenly  asthmatic  and  wheezy,  and  could  not  catch 
its  breath.  Dryer  wood  was  of  no  account ;  the  lifting 
of  the  tent  curtain  brought  no  relief  by  draughts  of 
fresh  air.  After  all  the  coaxing  and  forcing,  the  smoke 
refused  to  go  up  the  legitimate  way,  and  socially  filled 
the  tent  instead ;  at  which  many  tears  were  shed.  So 
the  fire  was  put  out ;  singing  and  joking,  and  stories 
and  laughing,  came  to  an  end'  after  a  short  half  hour. 
The  men  wondered,  and  the  boys  too,  what  the  matter 
could -be,  and  then  all  went  to  sleep.  This  morning,  in 
attempting  to  solve  the  mystery,  masses  of  leaves  and 
grass,  much  like  an  old  squirrel's  nest,  were  found  in 
the  upper  end  of  the  pipe,  where  it  was  made  steady 
against  a  tree.  The  men  wondered,  and  the  boys  too, 
that  squirrels  should  build  in  a  stove-pipe  at  night,  and 
while  the  fire  was  burning.  The  men  had  never  heard 
of  the  like  before,  and  the  boys  said  they  had  not. 
Strange  things  do  sometimes  occur  in  camp,  specially 
where  there  are  boys. 

Some  time  was  spent  to-day  in  packing  off  game  to 
friends  up  and  down  the  river,  as  we  had  an  opportu 
nity  to  forward  it  to  a  landing.  The  plump  ducks  set 
tled  in  cosily  in  the  boxes  between  geese  and  turkeys, 
and  the  fox  squirrels  filled  up  the  chinks,  while  par 
tridges  and  snipe  took  the  place  of  honor  on  the  top. 

A  gentleman  hunter  came  into  camp  during  the  day, 


180  THE    GENERAL,    OE 

amusing  us  more  than  he  disturbed  the  game.  He  was 
dressed  in  good  black  broadcloth,  and  his  boots  had  a 
splendid  polish,  while  his  hunting  apparatus  was  of  the 
most  approved  pattern,  and  military  finish,  for  he  ranked 
high  in  the  army.  His  movements  on  the  game  were  bold 
and  soldier-like.  When  he  returned  from  his  first  and 
last  attack  on  the  ducks  down  the  creek,  his  broadcloth 
and  boots  looked  otherwise  than  so  as  they  did  look 
when  he  marched  forth ;  and  he  did  not  say  so  much 
of  game  when  he  put  off  his  armor  as  when  he  put 
it  on. 

To  one  experienced  in  camp,  angle,  and  gun  life,  it 
is  vastly  entertaining  to  see  your  fastidious  and  exqui 
site  book  sportsman  enter  the  field.  His  outfit  is  ex 
travagantly  expensive,  as  well  as  unfitting ;  he  has  more 
luggage  than  a  belle  at  Cape  May,  yet  learns  at  last  that 
a  very  small  bag  and  boy  can  carry  all  his  game.  The 
rain  and  the  sunshine,  the  flies  and  the  mosquitos,  the 
brush  and  the  open  land,  the  bog  and  the  rocks,  all 
trouble  him,  and  he,  in  return,  troubles  all  his  compan 
ions  ;  and  the  universal  prayer  is,  that  he  may  be  taken 
home  tenderly  and  speedily  to  a  dressing-gown,  slip 
pers,  and  an  ottoman. 

I  well  remember  fishing  for  mackerel,  during  a  col 
lege  holiday,  from  a  wharf  in  Dorchester,  when  a  gen 
tleman  was  driven  down  pompously  in  a  splendid  open 
buggy,  to  try  his  chance.  The  driver  so  placed  the  car 
riage  that  his  eminence  could  sit  in  it  and  fish.  With 
much  ado  he  rigged  a  beautiful  jointed  pole  and  reel, 
and  made  a  beginning.  If  there  had  been  one  aristo 
cratic  or  snobbish  mackerel  in  Boston  Bay,  that  estab 
lishment  wanted  him,  and  ought  to  have  taken  him. 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.       181 

But,  as  it  turned  out,  the  first  fish  was  an  impudent 
and  vulgar  sculpin.  We  laughed,  the  gentleman  was 
disgusted,  and  the  carriage  left.  Our  military  friend 
came  down  the  river,  and  then  —  he  went  up  the 
river. 

During  this  same  day  the  skin  of  a  swan  was  care 
fully  removed  from  the  original  owner,  and  packed  for 
the  East  by  The  General,  and  threescore  and  ten  squir 
rel  tails  were  removed  to  make  eminent  bashaw  boys 
at  home.  A  solitary  turkey  called  us  a  half  mile  into 
the  forest,  and  there  left  us  quietly  to  our  own  medita 
tions  on  the  deceitfulness  of  hope. 

To  relieve  the  tedium  of  that  idle  Indian  summer 
day,  so  soft  in  its  haze,  and  lying  so  lazily  all  abroad  on 
the  tinted  forest,  and  lake  shores,  and  laps  of  prairie, 
we  made  sundry  empty  pickle  jars  serve  as  targets  for 
our  revolvers  and  rifles.  It  was  a  good  study  and  prac 
tice  for  the  culture  of  exactness. 

The  man  who  would  give  precision  and  a  clear  cut  to 
his  thought,  and  send  the  idea  accurately  home,  should 
practise  rifle  shooting.  In  this  he  learns  to  depend  on 
a  single  ball,  and  on  his  skill  in  putting  it  in  the  right 
place.  It  is  practical  mathematics,  conic  sections  ap 
plied,  in  a  very  demonstrative  way.  A  good  sharp 
shooter  must  be  an  accurate  reasoner.  Distance,  re 
fraction  of  the  atmosphere,  and  currents  of  air,  as  well 
as  the  most  vulnerable  point  in  the  game,  and  its  speed, 
if  it  be  moving,  must  be  estimated. 

I  well  remember  my  first  lesson  on  the  deceptive- 
ness  of  a  dense  and  refracting  atmosphere.  It  was  a 
prairie  chicken  on  the  marshes  below  Davenport,  clean 
burnt  bottom,  and  loaded  down  with  the  heavy  vapors 


182  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

of  an  approaching  April  evening.  My  vision  of  the  biro 
was,  of  necessity,  in  an  upward  curve.  My  first  ball 
made  a  good  perpendicular,  but  three  inches  above  the 
bird's  head,  as  its  strike  beyond  showed  ;  the  second 
was  lower,  and  the  third  lower  still.  The  bird,  true  to 
habit,  kept  itself  motionless,  till  the  fourth  ball  reduced 
its  head  to  a  vulgar  fraction.  Distance,  and  vapors, 
and  refraction,  and  breezes,  and  the  changing  positions 
of  men,  not  being  taken  fully  into  account,  many  public 
speakers  make  random  shots.  Some  hit  the  hearer 
the  second  time  just  where  they  missed  him  the  first 
time. 

Specially  men  who  handle  canons  ecclesiastical 
should  practise  rifle-shooting.  Dependence  on  a  single 
ball  in  the  right  place  will  give  them  command  of  "the 
inevitable  words,"  so  honorably  credited  to  Ilobcrt 
South.  O,  but  how  many  use  shot  guns,  and  small 
shot  at  that,  and  like  an  old  British  soldier,  they  seem 
to  come  no  nearer  to  taking  aim  than  raising  the  gun 
breast  high.  Some,  in  their  trepidation,  and  with  un 
practised  hands,  let  their  pieces  off  at  half  cock,  which, 
perhaps,  is  just  as  well,  after  all. 

Moreover,  this  rifle  practice  will  help  the  speaker  to 
know  that,  after  he  has  fired,  his  piece  is  empty.  It  is 
no  use  to  cock  and  snap  till  he  loads  again.  ITow 
much  snapping  of  explosive,  sensational  caps  in  the 
pulpit  and  on  the  platform,  with  an  empty  rifle,  because 
the  speaker  does  not  know  that  he  has  fired,  and  is 
empty,  and  should  be  ended  of  his  noise. 

Men  who  use  shot  can,  if  able,  carry  a  double  barrel, 
and  so  fire  twice  in  close  succession.  Father  Gleason, 
the  good  missionary  among  the  New  York  Indians, 


183 

had  a  Deacon  Two  Guns  in  his  church.  Probably  in 
his  wild  state  the  man  was  the  possessor  of  a  double- 
barrelled  gun,  and  so  came  by  his  name;  to  which  the 
church  affixed  the  title,  as  an  officer  in  it.  Happy  the 
pastor  and  the  church  where  Deacon  Two  Guns  is  an 
office-bearer,  provided  always  that  he  knows  how  to 
handle  his  piece.  It  was,  no  doubt,  the  frequent  and 
ill-timed  pop  of  a  single  barrel  of  small  shot,  and  the 
unskilled  use  of  a  double  barrel,  that  led  Dr.  Todd  to 
make  a  characteristic  reply  on  a  certain  occasion. 

"Dr.  Todd,"  inquired  a  friend,  "  how  do  you  proceed 
when  about  to  elect  a  deacon  ? "  "  With  great  re 
luctance,  sir." 

I  am  aware  that  the  Council  of  Agde  forbade  hunt 
ing  and  hawking  to  bishops,  presbyters,  and  deacons, 
and  they  were  not  allowed  to  keep  dogs  and  falcons 
for  field  sports.  Also  the  Council  of  Trullo  restrained 
the  clergy  from  baiting  wild  beasts  and  hunting  them 
with  dogs.  But  this  was  far  back  in  the  darkness  of 
the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries,  and  in  the  Papal 
church.  Against  all  such  restrictions  I  am  a  thorough 
Protestant,  and  my  Lord  Coke  rules  that  I  may  hunt, 
as  you  will  soon  see. 

If  nil  bishops  or  ministers  should  keep  a  fast  day,  as 
Laud  did,  for  every  awkward  shot,  their  weeks  would 
not  be  long  enough.  The  story  runs  thus :  The 
famous  Laud  had  been  nominated  as  Bishop  of  St. 
David's,  but  was  not  installed.  Visiting  Lord  Touch 
at  Branshill  Park,  Hampshire,  he  is  persuaded  to  join 
in  a  hunt,  which  was  very  well,  before  or  after  induc 
tion.  But  not  skilled  in  the  crossbow,  as  good  Hugh 
Latimer  would  have  had  him  — and  in  some  other 


184  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

things,  too,  he  was  far  from  Latimer's  model  for  a 
bishop  —  he  unfortunately  shot  a  man  instead  of  a  deer. 
It  was  a  sad  thing,  and  Laud  went  penitently  into 
retirement,  while  his  rivals  urged  that  a  man  of  blood 
could  not  fill  a  bishopric.  The  king  issued  a  com 
mission  of  inquiry  on  the  objection,  and  they  declared 
it  to  be  no  bar.  The  opposition  also  consulted  Sir 
Edward  Coke,  whether  a  bishop  might  hunt  at  all. 
He  wisely  declared  it  to  be  good  canon  and  civil  law 
that  a  bishop  may  hunt.  Sir  Edward  was  learned  and 
scholarly,  as  the  world  knows.  Laud  was  inducted 
Bishop  of  St.  David's,  November  18,  1621 ;  but  he  ever 
after  sorrowfully  kept  that  fatal  day  as  a  fast  day. 

Awkward  shots,  erring,  wounding  shots,  have  kept 
many  candidates  from  installation,  and  disturbed  the 
settlements  of  not  a  few,  and  their  fast  days  are  not 
near  enough  together.  Yes,  practise  rifle-shooting,  as 
a  means  to  clear  ideas,  accurate  expression,  singleness 
of  aim,  and  definiteness  in  result.  For,  as  that  most 
excellent  sermon  hath  it,  "  Men  shall  never  shoote  well 
except  they  be  brought  up  in  it."  Study  carefully 
the  archery  of  the  Psalms,  and  all  the  arrows  of  the 
Old  Testament,  and  trust  to  no  bow  drawn  at  a 
venture,  though  a  careless  man  did  once  so  kill  a 
wicked  king. 

Well,  we  were  shooting  rifles  at  the  empty  pickle 
jars  beside  Swan  Lake.  So  in  doing  various  nothings 
laboriously  —  for  to  do  nothing  in  a  series,  and  follow  it 
well,  is  hard  work  — the  leisure  day  waxed  and  waned  in 
all  the  mellow  glories  of  October  in  the  forests.  We 
were  as  merry,  and  jolly,  and  free  from  care  as  Robin 
Hood's  men  in  Sherwood,  and  if  we  made  no  shots  as 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.       185 

good  as  Callura  Dhu's  among  the  McGregors,  it  was  the 
fault  of  our  education  in  degenerate  times. 

Supper  came,  and  went  too.  Then  The  General  set 
us  all  over  the  Loup  Fork  in  one  boat  load,  and  we 
struck  out  for  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  bold  style,  as 
you  will  now  see. 


186  THE    GENERAL,    OB 


INDIANS  !   INDIANS  ! 

"  I  like  a  good  starting-point  in  a  story,  and  a  ferry 
is  such.  We  crossed  over,  the  next  morning,  from 
where  I  left  the  expedition  last  night,  and  were  now 
fairly  in  the  Pawnee  country.  Large  bands  of  them 
would  often  follow  the  train  from  morning  till  night, 
begging  and  stealing  according  to  opportunity.  They 
are  a  low,  filthy  tribe,  inferior  in  every  respect  to  the 
Sioux  of  the  Upper  Missouri.  They  were  friendly,  but 
most  inveterate  thieves,  particularly  of  horses,  in  which 
they  abounded. 

"They  had  often  demanded  and  received  presents 
from  small  companies  passing  through  their  country. 
When  our  train  encamped  on  Wood  River  these 
Indians  made  their  appearance  in  large  numbers.  The 
guard  was  set  across  the  bend  of  the  river  within  whose 
curve  our  camp  was,  and  no  Indian  was  allowed  to 
enter.  With  previous  trains  of  emigrants  they  had  had 
the  privilege  of  going  within  the  line,*;  and  even  tents, 
ostensibly  to  trade,  but  really  to  steal.  At  my  un 
looked-for  check  on  their  custom  and  plans,  they  be 
came  clamorous  and  abusive.  They  had  pressed  up 
hard  on  the  line  when  I  ordered  the  guard  to  bo 
doubled,  and  all  my  men  to  come  inside.  At  this  junc 
ture  of  affairs  two  young  chiefs  cainc  forward,  and  in 
broken  English  demanded  to  sec  the  cnptain.  I  was  called 
from  my  tent,  and  met  the  two  chiefs  outside.  They 
demanded  tribute  in  tobacco,  pipes,  blankets,  powder 


1ST 


and  lead,  because  my  band  was  passing  through  their 
territory,  eating  their  grass,  killing  their  buffalo,  and 
burning  their  wood,  adding  that  other  bands  of  whites 
had  paid  this  tribute,  and  I  must.  I  replied,  that  they 
had  a  large  country,  and  did  not  need  all  the  grass  and 
wood,  and  that  their  Great  Father  at  Washington  had 
given  me  permission  to  go  through,  and  that  he  gave 
them  annually  many  horses,  and  guns,  and  blankets, 
and  provisions,. and  money  to  pay  for  letting  bands  of 
white  men  go  through,  and  that  he  expected  his  chil 
dren,  the  red  men,  would  not  trouble  his  other  children, 
the  pale  faces. 

"  They  then  demanded  to  be  let  into  the  camp  to 
trade,  and  sell  nioccasons  and  fancy  things  for  food  and 
ammunition.  This  I  also  refused,  telling  them  that 
their  people  were  thieves,  that  I  could  not  trust  them 
inside,  and  that  all  their  demands  and  threats  for 
presents  or  trade  I  should  resist  with  force. 

"  At  this  the  Indians  all  retired  to  a  small  rise  of  land 
at  a  short  distance  in  front  of  the  camp,  and  set  up  a 
most  terrific  cry,  with  fierce  gestures  of  revenge,  bran 
dishing  their  knives  and  tomahawks.  All  at  once  they 
started  for  their. village,  two  miles  off,  yelling  as  they 
went,  some  on  horses,  and  some  on  foot.  This  act 
caused  much  alarm  in  camp,  and  I  was  censured  for  my 
arbitrary  course  towards  the  Indians.  But  I  was  forced 
into  the  measure  by  their  constant  thefts  from  the 
wagons.  All  along  the  route,  where  a  halt  was  called, 
at  a  watering-place  or  encampment,  a  crowd  of  the 
vagabonds  would  come  about  us,  and  while  one  Indian 
engaged  the  attention  of  a  driver  by  the  sale  of  some 
trifle,  others  would  steal  whatever  came  to  hand  that 


188  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

could  be  concealed  and  carried.  On  an  examination 
the  day  before,  it  was  ascertained  that  many  of  the 
company,  not  used  to  Indian  trickery,  had  not  only 
lost  trifling  things,  like  knives  and  hatchets,  but  whole 
hams  and  large  pieces  of  other  meat.  An  Indian  can 
place  two  or  three  hams  under  his  blanket,  and  walk 
off  without  being  mistrusted.  I  well  knew  the  sad 
consequences  of  such  losses,  when,  in  the  progress  of 
the  journey,  misfortune  might  come  and  provisions  be 
scarce.  Moreover,  if  I  submitted  to  these  demands, 
smaller  trains  of  emigrants  would  be  compelled  to 
surrender,  and  be  robbed  wholly,  and  without  mercy. 
I  therefore  set  them  at  defiance. 

"As  the  Indians  went  off  in  great  anger,  the  more 
timid  of  our  company  believed  that  we  should  be 
attacked  that  night.  But  as  the  evening  wore  away, 
the  little  circles  grew  less  and  less  around  the  camp 
fires.  One  after  another  disappeared  in  his  tent,  so 
that  by  ten  o'clock  all  attacks  by  Indians  were  for 
gotten. 

"  It  was  a  dark  night,  with  no  moon  and  few  stars. 
The  prairie  was  on  fire  in  the  distance,  lighting  up  the 
solitary  waste  with  a  lurid  glare  far  along  the  horizon. 
It  was  nearly  eleven  o'clock,  and  a  few  of  us,  officers, 
were  sitting  around  the  fires  of  the  guard  in  front  of 
the  encampment,  when  the  tramp  of  horses'  feet  was 
heard  approaching  from  up  the  river.  In  an  instant  I 
laid  my  ear  close  to  the  ground  to  listen.  The  sound 
was  distinct,  and  as  I  rose  up  I  could  see  by  the  light 
of  the  prairie  fire,  and  between  us  and  it,  horsemen 
approaching  at  a  gallop.  I  at  once  shouted,  at  the  top 
of  my  voice,  '  Indians !  Indians  1 '  Those  inside  who 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS*    CAMP.       189 

were  awake  repeated  the  alarm,  and  it  spread  like 
flashing  lightning  through  the  camp. 

"  I  gave  orders  for  all  to  form  in  line  in  front  of  the 
camp.  Men  rushed  from  their  tents  half  clothed,  be 
wildered,  and  without  arms.  Some  brought  guns  un 
loaded,  and  others  axes,  knives,  and  hatchets.  A  few 
sought  refuge  in  the  tents,  or  under  the  wagons,  and 
hid  themselves  away  among  bags  and  blankets.  One 
old  man,  a  Methodist  exhorter  from  Iowa  City,  and 
who  died  soon  after  his  arrival  in  California,  was  found 
under  his  wagon,  praying  for  protection  against  the 
Indians !  Just  as  the  officers  had  succeeded  in  forming 
a  line  of  so  many  as  had  the  courage  to  come  out,  the 
enemy  was  discovered  to  be  a  small  party  of  our  own 
horsemen,  who  had  been  feeding  their  stock  up  the 
creek  —  a  circumstance  of  absence  forgotten  for  the 
time  by  the  wagon-master,  and  never  mentioned  to  me. 

"  Intending  to  profit  by  the  occurrence,  so  seriously 
opening,  and  ending  so  ludicrously,  I  ordered  the  roll 
called,  and  all  delinquents  to  be  brought  forward. 
This  revealed  a  bad  state  of  things.  Some  of  them 
could  not  find  their  arms  in  time  to  fall  in;  others 
had  no  ammunition.  Indeed,  but  few  of  our  entire 
company  were  really  ready  for  an  Indian  surprise. 
Out  of  the  company  of  men  in  camp  when  the  alarm  was 
given,  only  twenty-four  were  found  in  the  ranks  ready 
to  fight.  I  at  once  took  measures  to  have  all  their 
arms  put  in  good  order,  each  man  to  be  provided  with 
ammunition ;  and  I  passed  the  regulation  that  they 
should  keep  their  pieces  loaded,  but  not  capped,  and 
by  their  sides  at  night.  After  a  protracted  address 
on  watchfulness  among  the  Indians,  two  rounds  were 


190  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

fired,  and  then  all  retired  to  rest,  except  the  guard. 
To  this  day  many  of  that  company  believe  that  I 
planned  that  alarm  and  played  a  game  on  them,  to  see 
what  kind  of  material  I  had  to  depend  on  in  crossing 
the  Plains. 

"There  was  another  company  that  passed  while  I  was 
in  controversy  with  the  Pawnees,  and  not  only  saw  their 
angry  manners,  but  were  told  by  the  timid  of  my  train 
that  AVC  should  be  attacked  before  morning.  This  train 
passed  on  about  two  miles,  and  ca'mped  some  distance 
from  the  road,  through  fear  of  the  Indians.  They  were 
aroused  by  the  report  of  our  guns,  and  supposing  we 
were  attacked,  instead  of  coming  to  the  rescue,  they 
broke  up  their  camp  in  haste,  and  at  midnight,  and 
commenced  their  march  for  the  next  day.  About  a 
mile  beyond  them,  and  just  before  regaining  the  main 
road,  there  was  one  of  those  sunken  marshes,  so  often 
found  on  the  bottom  lands  of  the  Platte.  In  attempt 
ing  to  cross  this  in  the  darkness,  their  teams  mired, 
and  many  of  them  remained  there  till  morning.  Our 
company  saw  them  from  the  thoroughfare,  as  we  passed 
by,  and  reminding  them  of  the  story  of  the  two  friends 
and  the  bear,  we  left  them  to  extricate  themselves  as 
best  they  could; 

"The  company  were  now  ascending  the  north  fork 
of  the  Platte,  and  were  fairly  in  the  buffalo  country, 
and  vast  herds  of  this  animal  were  seen  in  the  distance. 
The  valley  of  the  Platte  is  from  three  to  ten  miles 
wide.  In  some  places,  the  bluffs  or  high  prairie  come 
near  to  the  banks,  while  in  others  they  recede.  Under 
the  edge  of  these  bluffs  the  grass  springs  much  earlier 
than  in  the  more  open  prairie,  and  immense  herds  of 


buffalo  were  here  quietly  grazing.  When  at  a  distance, 
one  would  see  a  long,  black  line  of  them  beneath  the 
bluff,  and  this  line  would  continue  in  view  from  morn 
ing  till  night.  This  accounts  for  the  oft-repeated  and 
never-explained  assertions  of  travellers,  that  they  had 
seen  thousands  of  these  animals  in  single  herds,  and 
had  travelled  through  them  from  morning  till  night, 
and  for  days  together.  They  had  seen  a  thin  line  of 
these  animals  on  that  strip  of  early  and  tender  grass, 
and  not  deep  and  dense  herds. 

"  In  the  extreme  hot  weather  the  little  lakes,  creeks, 
and  ponds  dry  up  in  the  interior,  and  by  instinct  these 
animals  approach  the  Platte  for  water,  in  distances  of 
hundreds  of  miles  across  the*  plains,  and  their  move 
ment  is  marked  by  vast  clouds  of  dust.  When  once 
started  they  neither  stop  nor  turn  out  till  they  reach 
the  water.  In  these  annual  migrations  they  always 
seek  a  beaten  track,  called  a  *  buffalo  trail.'  It  is  com 
posed  of  five  hundred,  it  may  be,  or  a  thousand  paths, 
side  by  side,  like  furrows  in  a  field,  only  that  they  are 
deeper  and  about  four  feet  apart.  These  are  quite 
uniform  in  depth  and  parallel  distance,  and  often 
make  a  belt  of  great  width.  The  trail  is  begun  by  a 
herd  starting  for  water,  and  travelling  side  by  side 
through  the  prairie  grass,  the  platoon,  so  to  speak,  be 
ing  several  buffalo  deep,  and  each  following  in  the 
steps  of  his  predecessor.  They  return  in  the  same 
track  and  order,  and  as  they  go  back  and  forth  thus, 
the  paths  are  worn  deep,  while  the  grass  along  the  trail 
is  wholly  destroyed. 

"When  the  stranger  beholds  one  of  these  trails,  his 
first  thought  is,  that  he  has  come  to  a  cultivated  land, 


192  THE    GENERAL,    OK 

and  that  this  is  a  vast  field  ploughed  and  furrowed  for 
planting.  He  looks  off  right  and  left  on  it,  and  sees 
each  path  bearing  its  regular  curve  to  the  other,  like 
the  crooked  furrow  the  farmer  has  followed  in  plough 
ing  each  succeeding  one.  When  the  train  comes  to 
one  of  these  trails  the  men  must  find  a  high  ridge, 
where  the  wind  has  filled  in  the  paths  with  sand,  or 
they  must  level  a  road  with  the  spade,  for,  in  many 
places,  the  paths  are  too  deep  for  any  carriage  to  pass 
them. 

"If  a  traveller  is  once  caught  in  a  buifalo  trail  when 
they  come  along,  pressing  on  for  water,  he  has  no  way 
of  escape.  The  buffalo  could  not  turn  out  if  he  would, 
for  he  is  pressed  on  each  side,  and  from  behind,  by  the 
rushing  herd.  If  an  animal  falls  down,  he  is  trampled 
to  death  by  those  following,  who  cannot  stop.  The 
eyes,  nose,  and  mouths  of  these  creatures  are  filled  with 
sand  and  dust ;  their  tongues  hang  out  swollen  and 
parched  with  thirst,  and  no  obstacle  —  man  or  beast  — 
.can  stop  them  in  their  passion  and  haste  for  water. 

"The  Indians  and  trappers  say  that  the  buffalo  often 
came  down  to  the  Platte  in  such  wild  fury  as  to  rush 
over  the  banks  into  the  river,  treading  on  one  another, 
so  that  thousands  are  drowned.  We  found  hundreds 
of  them  dead  and  dying  on  the  open  plain  that  had 
been  burned  by  the  annual  prairie  fires.  On  the  season 
of  our  trip,  however,  the  fires  had  been  unusually 
severe,  for  the  old  grass  was  heavy  —  perhaps  the 
accumulation  of  two  or  three  years.  Some  advanced 
trains  had  set  the  fires  during  a  wind  storm,  so  that  the 
blazing  tufts  were  carried  to  a  great  distance,  and  a 
wide  country  fired  at  once.  Not  only  had  the  buffalo 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.         193 

been  overtaken  by  the  flames,  but  the  wolf,  and  even 
the  fleet  antelope,  as  we  found,  had  perished  in  the 
fiery  tornado. 

"Many  blind  buifalo  lay  along  the  banks  of  the 
Platte,  and  at  times,  when  the  road  ran  near  to  them, 
we  had  to  send  scouts  forward  to  clear  the  way,  lest 
they  should  run  into  us.  Through  all  this  region  our 
camp  was  well  supplied  with  buffalo  and  antelope 
meat.  Of  the  latter  animal  but  little  notice  is  taken, 
as  his  fleetness  prevents  his  being  captured  to  any  prac 
tical  extent  by  the  sportsman.  They  are  animals  of 
great  curiosity,  and  no  strange  object  can  be  shown  to 
them  without  their  approaching  to  know  what  it  is? 
depending  on  their  swift  foot  for  safety,  if  danger  arise'. 
The  hunter  uses  this  curiosity  to  kill  them.  Selecting 
some  log,  rock,  or  cover,  he  lies  flat  on  the  ground,  and 
putting  his  handkerchief  or  some  showy  object  on  his 
ramrod,  he  waves  it  back  and  forth  till  the  attention 
of  the  animal  is  arrested.  In  a  few  moments  it  will 
come  towards  the  hunter  with  a  bound.  As  it  comes 
quite  near  it  will  begin  to  circle  around  the  object, 
coming  nearer  and  nearer,  till  within  the  range  of  the 
fatal  rifle,  and  so  is  killed. 

"Of  all  the  animals  that  inhabit  the  Plains,  they  are 
the  most  beautiful  and  innocent,  resembling  somewhat 
the  fawn,  or  yearling  deer,  except  in  length  of  body  and 
neck,  which  are  shorter  and  more  like  those  of  the  goat. 
They  have  the  color  of  the  deer,  with  white  stripes 
along  the  sides,  a  mottled  face,  with  a  tender,  beautiful 
eye  like  that  of  the  gazelle.  The  antelope  is  often 
called  the  American  gazelle. 

"  We  had  now  travelled  three  hundred  miles  from 
13 


194  THE    GENERAL,    OK 

the  Loup  Fork,  and  to  a  region  on  the  Platte  where, 
the  timber  gave  out  entirely,  and  nothing  but  a  treeless 
waste  lay  before  us.  Here  we  spent  some  days  in  rest 
ing  the  animals.  Two  hundred  miles  lay  between  us 
and  Fort  Laramie  with  only  a  single  tree  in  all  the 
distance !  A  sense  of  loneliness  comes  over  one  as  he 
enters  this  vast  prairie  ocean.  After  a  journey  of  two 
or  three  days  his  eyes  are  greeted  by  the  sight  of  the 
Lone  Tree,  known  to  all  trappers,  traders,  and  emi 
grants  of  the  Platte.  Whence  it  came,  or  how  long 
it  has  braved  the  storms  of  rain  and  wind,  sand  and 
fire,  none  can  tell;  but  there  it  stands,  a  solitary  sen 
tinel  of  the  desert,  unscathed  by  the  lightnings,  while 
the  hand  of  man  has  not  presumed  to  mar  it.  It  looks, 
at  a  distance,  like  the  first  speck  of  a  ship  at  sea,  and 
is  a  great  landmark,  for  it  counts  three  hundred  and 
seventy-five  miles  from  Council  Bluffs,  and  one  hun 
dred  and  forty-seven  to  Fort  Laramie. 

"Another  curiosity  met  with  on  these  prairies  is 
The  Saleratus  Beds.  These  are  composed  of  a  white 
substance  that  rises  from  the  earth,  looking  like  lime 
or  plaster  of  Paris,  sown  all  over  the  land  for  many 
miles.  It  whitens  the  grass  like  snow,  and  persons 
travelling  through  it  find  their  pants  covered  with  the 
white  powder  to  the  knees.  When  pools  and  other 
bodies  of  water  impregnated  with  it  dry  up,  an  incrus 
tation  is  left,  like  ice,  an  inch  thick,  and  large  flakes  or 
sheets  of  it  can  be  lifted  as  ice  from  under  which  the 
water  has  been  drained  off. 

"  These  ponds  form  a  curiosity  to  the  traveller,  as  he 
beholds  their  dazzling  whiteness  in  the  morning  sun, 
sparkling  like  acres  of  diamonds.  The  substance  is 


CAMP.        195 

often  used  for  baking  purposes,  but  it  has  a  bitter  taste? 
and  is  a  poor  substitute  in  camp  for  saleratus.  When 
the  water  impregnated  by  it  is  drunk  by  man  or  beast 
in  any  large  quantity,  it  produces  death,  while  very 
small  quantities  act  directly  on  the  kidneys,  producing 
weakness  and  disability.  In  some  portions  of  the  route 
to  California,  it  is  very  troublesome,  and  has  produced 
great  disasters,  destroying  the  entire  teams  of  a  com 
pany,  leaving  the  poor  emigrants  helpless  and  destitute 
on  the  desert. 

"  We  were  at  this  time  passing  over  immense  prairies, 
and  no  living  being  was  visible,  except  the  buffalo,  the 
antelope,  and  the  cayote,  or  prairie  wolf.  Water  was 
scarce,  and  at  wide  distances  apart,  so  that  we  were 
often  without  it  at  night,  except  as  the  men  had  carried 
it  in  their  rubber  bags  and  tin  cans. 

"  As  soon  as  a  halt  was  called  at  night,  the  cooks  of 
each  mess  would  be  seen  running  in  every  direction, 
with  sacks  and  blankets,  for  buffalo  chips,  so  called 
politely,  for  fuel.  When  dry  the  article  is  a  good  sub 
stitute  for  wood,  and  produces  no  unpleasant  odor.  It 
makes  a  mass  of  coal  not  unlike  peat,  and  answers  all 
the  purposes  of  fuel. 

"  The  mirage,  as  seen  on  these  endless  prairies,  is 
wonderful,  and  often  sublime.  At  one  time  the  trav 
eller  sees  before  him,  and  directly  in  his  course,  a  beau 
tiful  lake ;  but  as  he  approaches,  it  recedes.  Its  placid 
waters,  that  invited  and  excited  the  thirsty  wanderer, 
prove  to  be  a  false  and  fleeing  shadow.  Again,  he 
will  see  a  city,  nigh  or  far  off,  with  magnificent  domes 
and  spires,  minarets  and  towers,  lying  up  'ln  tne  n°on- 
day  sun.  But  as  he  gazes  and  approaches,  it  moves  off, 


196  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

like  the  aurora,  till  lost  in  the  distance.  'The  small  em 
inences,  at  times,  loom  up  like  mountains,  and  shrubs 
become  groves  inviting  to  their  cool  shades,  that  fade 
out  and  move  off,  as  one  pursues  them,  under  a  burn 
ing  sun. 

"  The  dust  we  encountered  was  a  great  annoyance, 
and  was  often  so  severe  as  to  bring  the  train  to  a  halt, 
and  compel  an  encampment.  After  travelling  all  day, 
it  happened  that  we  did  not  recognize  each  other,  or  a 
man  his  own  team,  having  put  on  goggles  and  a  veil, 
and  being  covered  with  a  deep  coating  of  white  dust. 

"Another  curiosity  to  us  was  the  prairie  dog,  of 
which  trappers  and  travellers  of  those  regions  have 
told  so  much.  This  animal  is  about  as  large  as  the 
wharf  rat,  with  head  and  ears  like  the  woodchuck  of 
New  England.  He  inhabits  only  the  prairie,  and  that 
the  high  ground," lives  on  grass  and  roots,  and  burrows 
like  the  gopher,  bringing  the  dirt  to  the  surface.  And 
so,  as  they  never  live  solitary,  but  in  villages,  one  of 
their  haunts,  covering  acres,  looks  like  a  city  of  mounds. 
The  only  visitors  they  admit  to  their  subterranean 
houses  are  the  owl  and  the  rattlesnake.  Some  have 
supposed  that  the  prairie  dog  has  instinct,  like  the 
beaver,  that  leads  him  to  organize  a  settlement  on  a 
plan  and  under  regulations,  and  that  the  owl  and  snake 
are  there  on  invitation,  or  by  consent,  as  guests  and 
friends.  But  I  am  satisfied,  from  long  observation,  that 
this  is  a  mistake.  This  animal  has  less  shrewdness  or 
wisdom  than  the  common  farm  rat,  and  possesses  little 
power  of  self-protection.  Hence  the  owl  comes  in  to  feed 
on  their  young,  and  the  snake  to  find  a  place  of  com 
fort  and  safety.  Their  reputed  bark,  as  of  the  dog,  is 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS*    CAMP.        107 

much  a  matter  of  the  imagination.  It  is  true  that  on 
the  approach  of  danger  they  sit  at  the  mouths  of  their 
holes,  and  make  a  chucking  noise,  but  it  most  resembles 
that  of  the  squirrel. 

"Of  the  landscape  curiosities  in  ascending  the  Platte 
valley  there  are  but  few.  Chimney  Rock  and  Court 
House  Rock  arc  perpendicular  escarpments  of  sand 
stone,  nearly  seventy-five  feet  high,  and  they  stand  out 
as  sentinels,  to  be  seen  at  a  great  distance.  They  are 
also  favorite  ] 'laces  of  resort  in  summer  for  the  Dakota 
Sioux,  as  there  were  trading-posts  at  both  these  Rocks, 
and  a  good  range  for  grazing,  and  opportunity  for  lay 
ing  in  the  annual  supply  of  fish. 

"  On  the  17th  of  June  we  reached  Fort  Laramie, 
at  the  upper  forks  of  the  Platte.  Here  we  rested 
for  several  days,  visiting  the  fort  and  vicinity,  and  in 
recruiting.  This  is  the  country  of  the  Dakota  Sioux 
of  the  Upper  Missouri.  They  are  a  fine,  athletic  speci 
men  cf  the  Indians  who  inhabit  the  extreme  frontier, 
and  were  then  reputed  to  be  friendly  to  the  whites. 
Here,  on  his  own  soil,  he  walks  in  dignity  and  self- 
respect,  free  from  many  of  the  vices  of  the  white  man. 
Bowing  to  no  superior,  he  asserts  his  rights  and  defends 
them.  Those  whom  I  saw  were  dressed  with  much 
taste  in  the  beautifully  tanned  leather  of  the  antelope 
and  mountain  sheep.  Their  garments  were  gaudily 
embroidered  with  beads  and  the  stained  quills  of  the 
mountain  porcupine.  They  had  splendid  horses,  and 
were  good  riders,  both  men  and  women. 

"  The  departure  of  the  train  from  Laramie  was  full 
of  perplexity  and  doubt.  Various  rumors  were  afloat 
of  hostile  Indians  on  the  line.  Then  there  were  other 


198  THE    GENERAL,    OE 

and  more  certain  difficulties  to  be  encountered.  The 
mountains  were  to  be  passed,  the  Great  American 
Desert  was  to  be  crossed,  the  snowy  heights  of  the 
Nevada  climbed,  before  we  could  rest  on  the  plains  of 
the  Sacramento.  Piles  of  letters  were  despatched  from 
this  place  to  the  loved  ones  at  home ;  and  it  seamed 
like  parting  anew  from  all  that  was  hallowed  on  earth, 
as  the  train  moved  out  from  its  encampment  on  the 
banks  of  the  north  fork  of  the  Platte,  from  this  the 
last  outpost  on  the  American  frontier." 

Night  and  sleep  come  in  a  very  easy,  off-hand  way 
in  camp,  and  it  is  a  pleasing  study  to  watch  by  the 
blazes  and  see  the  men,  one  by  one,  do  the  last  whit 
tling,  the  last  smoking  or  joking,  and  then  drop  off, 
half  awake  and  half  asleep,  to  the  tent.  TVre  did  it 
quite  promptly  this  night,  wishing  to  be  up  bright  and 
early,  and  see  The  General  lead  off  his  company  from 
Fort  Laramie. 


ELEVENTH  NIGHT. 

A  NOVELTY  to-day,  and  therefore  welcome.    We 
are  here  to  shoot,  and  flesh  and  fowl  have  been 
the  rage  with  us  in  tho  field  and  on  the  table.     This 

o 

morning  the  rumbling  of  prairie  wagons  and  the  loud 
talking  of  strange  voices  up  the  lake  shore  attracted 
our  attention.  The  scattered  farmers,  far  outside,  had 
made  up  a  company  to  lay  in  a  winter's  stock  of  fish, 
and  they  were  on  hand  at  early  dawn  with  nets  and 
seines,  spears  and  hooks,  and  the  conveniences  for 
cleaning  and  salting  sundry  wagon  loads  of  the  finny 
folk  of  Swan  Lake  and  waters  adjacent. 

All  day  long  there  has  been  with  us  a  divided  inter 
est  between  the  camps  of  St.  Peter  and  of  Nimrod. 
The  guns  and  dogs  were  not  idle,  and  yet  some  of  us 
have  been  constantly  watching  the  hauling  of  the 
seines.  The  amount  of  fish  taken  is  wonderful,  but 
the  kinds  are  more  so.  Some  of  them  are  outlandish 
enough.  •  The  teams  carried  off  on  the  second  day 
several  wagons  full,  dressed  and  somewhat  salted. 

The  varieties  of  the  fishes  in  the  western  waters  is 
not  yet  fully  known,  though  in  some  localities  the  dis 
coveries  and  classification  have  been  quite  thoroughly 
made.  About  severity-five  species  have  been  tabled 
scientifically,  as  belonging  to  the  waters  of  Ohio.  Of 
these  many  are  common  throughout  the  West,  The 


200  THE    GENERAL,    OK 

fishes  taken  here  for  family  use  were  the  white  perch, 
rock  bass,  pike,  black  bass,  buffalo,  and  catfish.  The 
perch  is  a  fish  of  sometimes  sixteen  or  twenty  inches 
in  length,  and,  when  taken  from  running  writer,  a  good 
table  fish.  The  rock  and  black  bass  are  among  the 
best,  specially  the  latter,  a  fish  of  two  or  three  pounds 
sometimes,  and  of  a  flavor  much  like  the  tautog  or 
black  fish,  such  a  favorite  in  the  eastern  markets. 

The  pike  is  substantially,  if  not  identically,  the  pick 
erel  of  New  England.  The  structure,  color,  habits,  and 
flavor  are  the  same,  allowing  for  some  local  influences 
and  the  greater  size  of  many  of  those  taken.  They 
are  not  uncommon  in  the  West  of  twenty  or  thirty 
pounds'  weight,  and  sometimes  are  taken  much  larger. 

The  General,  in  his  early  days  in  Iowa,  took  one  with 
a  spear  that' weighed  thirty-one  pounds  and  a  fraction. 
I  well  remember  the  jaws,  as  they  were  sent  East,  and 
the  teeth  were  as  long  as  the  longest  of  a  cat.  As  the 
fellow  was  lying  some  distance  off,  he  threw  the  spear, 
and  being  thus  made  fast,  like  a  harpoon,  the  pike  car 
ried  it  across  the  creek,  where  he  was  captured  by  an 
associate.  How  large  some  may  grow  is  unknown. 

In  the  Notes  on  the  Pike,  in  Walton's  Angler,  the 
London  papers  of  January  25,  1715,  are  cited  as  men 
tioning  one  taken  near  Newport  that  weighed  one  hun 
dred  and  seventy  pounds.  This  may  well  be,  if  another 
statement  in  the  same  Notes,  and  quoted  from  Hake- 
will's  Apologie  of  the  Power  and  Providence  of  God, 
is  to  be  taken.  He  says  that  a  pike  was  caught  in  Swe 
den,  in  1497,  carrying  a  metal  tag  with  a  Greek  in 
scription,  to  the  purport  that  Frederick  IT.  put  this 
fish  into  those  waters  in  1230,  two  hundred  and  sixty- 


CAMP.        201 

seven  years  before.     Such  age  might  well  give  great 
weight. 

The  pike  is  a  savage,  voracious,  sharky  fish,  and  your 
more  gentle  feelings  are  never  tried  in  landing  him,  as 
when  taking  trout  or  salmon.  St.  Izaak  calls  him  "a* 
solitary,  melancholy,  and  a  bold  fish,"  and  you  are  ready 
to  treat  him  as  you  do  the  other  bachelors  or  solitaries 
of  nature,  as  the  lion,  eagle,  hawk,  and  the  like,  that 
spurn  social  and  neighborly  life. 

The  buffalo  is  one  of  the  sucker  family,  and  the 
largest  of  the  kind  —  a  coarse  fish,  often  three  and 
four  feet  long,  and  would  commonly  be  regarded  as 
very  poor  eating. 

The  catfish  is  well  known  through  the  States  by  its 
family  name.  The  cat  of  the  Mississippi  is  among  their 
best  articles  of  fish  in  the  market,  if  not  too  large. 
They  often  attain  to  the  weight  of  a  hundred  pounds. 
A  friend  of  mine  once  took  fromifour  night  hooks,  hung 
in  the  mouths  of  Hock  River,  four  catfish,  whose  united 
weight  was  about  three  hundred  pounds. 

Among  the  worthless  fish  hauled  to  shore  by  these 
countrymen  there  were  two  that  would  attract  a  stran 
ger —  the  gar  and  the  spoonbill.  The  former  is  a  long, 
lank,  arrow-shaped  creature,  whose  main  feature  is  a 
piratical  and  rascally-looking  head,  one  fourth  his  whole 
length.  This  is  all  jaw,  and  teeth,  and  eye,  like  an 
out-and-out  politician  living  on  spoils.  In  character  it 
is  the  shark  of  the  river,  and  grows  large.  In  Stur 
geon  Bay  and  Swan  Lake  they  were  five  feet  long; 
and  in  the  Lower  Mississippi,  taking  the  name  of  the 
alligator  gar,  as  another  species,  they  grow  to  the  fear 
ful  size  of  eight  and  even  twelve  feet,  and  are  said  to 


202  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

be  a  match  for  the  alligator.  They  would  be  a  most 
uncomfortable  bathing  companion. 

The  most  marked  fish,  however,  is  the  spoonbill. 
The  body  is  not  unlike  the  cat  or  cod  in  general 
appearance,  but  it  has  a  huge  head,  with  coarse  and 
stout  jaws  of  equal  length,  and  in  the  Swan  Lake 
variety,  toothless.  But  on  the  upper  jaw  is  an  elon 
gation  of  cartilage,  equal  almost  to  bone  in  firmness, 
which  is  one  third  of  the  entire  length  of  the  fish. 
This  runs  tapering  till  near  the  end,  where  it  expands 
like  the  bowl  of  a  spoon.  This  snout  is  used  for  root 
ing  or  digging  on  the  muddy  bottom  for  food,  much 
after  the  manner  of  the  hog ;  and  as  this  fish  some 
times  gains  the  weight  of  a  hundred  pounds,  one  can 
conceive  what  a  monstrous  sight  it  must  be  with  such 
a  head  and  nose. 

Of  course  we  had  fish  for  supper,  baked,  boiled,  and 
fried,  dishes  good  enough  for  the  old  Romans,  who 
expended  so  many  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  on  their 
fish  ponds;  and  then,  better  still,  came  The  General. 

But  as  "finally"  sometimes  comes  midway  in  a 
sermon,  so  now,  though  through  my  Prelude  to  the 
Eleventh  Night,  certain  extended  "  concluding  re 
marks"  remain  to  be  made  on  this  matter  of  fish  and 
fishing. 

It  is  angling,  and  among  game  fish,  to  which  I  refer, 
and  can  best  commend  it,  generally,  in  the  words  of 
Sir  Henry  Wotton,  the  intimate  of  St.  Izaak.  -He 
says  that  it  was  to  him,  "  after  tedious  study,  a  rest  to 
the  mind,  a  cheerer  of  his  spirits,  a  calmer  of  unquiet 
thoughts,  a  moderator  of  passions,  a  procurer  of  con- 
tentedness ;  and  begat  habits  of  peace  and  patience." 


TWELVE    NIGHTS   IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        203 

The  Scriptures  recognize  this  art,  and  in  a  very 
honorable  way.  Job,  the  most  patient  man,  speaks  of 
drawing  out  leviathan  with  a  hook,  which,  were  he  to 
do  it,  would  make  him  "high  line"  among  all  fishermen. 
The  prophet  Amos  talks  of  fish-hooks  in  a  clerical 
way;  and  in  the  catalogue  of  the  apostles,  four  are 
fishermen,  and  stand  first  on  the  roll.  The  meditative 
quietness  of  the  exercise  favors  a  serious  turn  of  mind, 
though  I  think  the  Hon.  Robert  Boyle,  in  his.  tract 
entitled  "Angling  Improved  to  Spiritual  Uses,"  has 
but  poorly  presented  a  good  theme. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  some  of  the  worthiest  and 
noblest  of  men  have  been  men  of  the  angle.  Not 
only  did  Antony  and  Cleopatra  enjoy  it,  as  Plutarch 
informs  us,  but  excellent  divines.  Most  worthy  Dr. 
Nowel,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  London,  in  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  who  wrote  a  Latin  Catechism,  long  bound 
up  and  used  with  the  service-book  of  the  English 
Church,  and  that  was  also  published  in  English  and  in 
Greek,  was  accustomed  to  spend  a  tenth  of  his  time  in 
angling.  He  gave  all  his  fish  and  a  tenth  of  his  income 
to  the  poor,  and  "at  his  return  to  his  house  would 
praise  God  he  had  spent  that  day  free  from  worldly 
trouble,  both  harmlessly  and  in  a  recreation  that  be 
came  a  churchman."  A  picture  of  him,  long  seen,  and 
I  hope  yet,  in  Brazen  Nose  College,  Oxford,  he  left  to 
tell  posterity  who  was  the  Dean  of  St.  Paul's  for  forty- 
four  years.  He  stands  in  it  clerical,  with  the  Bible 
before  him;  the  top  of  the  picture  is  surmounted  with 
a  fishing-rod  and  several  fishes,  and  the  fish-lines  inter 
twine  the  sides  and  loop  around  the  inscription  under 
neath  —  "  PISCATOR  HOMINUM  "  —  a  worthy  ornament 


204  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

for  college  halls,  and  suggestive  in  these  days,  when 
we  are  straining  wits  and  consciences  to  devise  Chris 
tian  amusements. 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  though  puny  and  lame,  and  at  the 
University  at  Edinburgh  called  the  Great  Blockhead, 
could  strike  a  salmon  equal  to  the  best  fishers  on  the 
Tweed.  His  feeble  and  unpromising  boyhood  devel 
oped  into  vigor  with  field  sports.  At  that  early  day 
the  Harp  of  the  North  and  the  pen  of  Waverley  hung 
delicately  and  doubtfully  hooked  on  his  fly-rod.  For 
tunately  for  the  world,  he  was  able  to  reel  them  in. 

The  world  knows  how  Daniel  Webster  handled  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Ilayne,  and  Nulli 
fication,  and  international  questions.  Born  fortunately 
among  trout  brooks,  he  handled  huge  trout  in  the 
same  ardent,  easy  way.  Webster  was  a  prince  among 
fishermen,  as  elsewhere.  He  loved  deep-sea  fishing, 
and  made  long  casts,  in  more  senses  than  one.  AVhile 
steadying  the  ship  of  state,  he  often  rocked  in  a  yawl 
on  the  Potomac.  Says  one  who  frequently  took  him 
out  on  these  excursions,  — 

"  When  Secretary  of  State  he  used  to  come  here, 
always  early  in  the  morning,  and  accompanied  by  his 
private  secretary.  He  liked  the  fresh  morning  air  as 
much  as  any  man  I  ever  saw,  and  when  he  talked  to 
me  freely  about  fish  and  fishing,  I  could  believe  that 
he  had  been  in  the  business  all  his  days.  I  remember 
well  the  day  that  he  caught  his  biggest  rockiish.  I 
hud  taken  him  in  one  of  my  boats  to  the  '  Catting 
Iloek,'  and  as  we  swung  across  the  roaring  waters, 
the  great  man  clapped  his  hands  like  a  child.  The 
fish  weighed  sixteen  pounds,  and  gave  him  much  trou- 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMJ*.        '205 

ble  ;  and  when  I  gafTed  the  pri/c,  and  wo  knew  it  was 
sa(r,  he  dropped  his  rod  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat, 
jumped  to  liis  feet,  arid  gave  a  yell,  a  regular  Indian 
yell,  which  might  have  been  heard  in  Georgetown." 
His  voice  was  wont  to  be  heard  afar  at  other  times, 
when  heavy  pri/os  were  made  safe  for  the  country. 

Walton,  in  his  Complete  Angler,  expresses  quite 
dearly  my  own  views  on  this  interesting  subject:  — 

"No  life,  my  honest  scholar,  no  life  so  happy  and  so 
pleasant,  as  the  life  of  a  well-governed  Angler.  For 
when  the  lawyer  is  swallowed  up  with  business,  and 
the  statesman  is  preventing  or  contriving  plots,  there 
we  sit  on  cowslip  banks,  hear  the  birds  sing,  and  pos 
sess  our  souls  in  as  much  quietness  as  these  silver 
streams,  which  we  now  see  glide  so  quietly  by  us. 
Indeed,  my  good,  scholar,  we  may  say  of  Angling  as 
Ur.  Bolder  said  of  strawberries,  *  Doubtless  God  could 
have  made  a  better  berry,  but  doubtless  God  never 
did.'  And  so,  if  I  might  be  judge,  God  never  did 
make  a  more  calm,  quiet,  innocent  recreation  than 
Angling."  "Lot  me  tell  you,  there  be  many  that 
have  iorly  times  our  estates,  that  would  give  the 
greatest  part  of  it,  to  be  healthful  and  cheerful  like  us, 
who,  with  the  expense  of  a  little  money,  have  cat  and 
drunk,  and  laughed  and  angled,  and  sung  and  slept 
securely;  and  rose  next  day,  and  cast  away  care,  and 
sung  and  laughed  and  angled  again  ;  which  arc  bless 
ings  rich  men  cannot  purchase  with  all  their  money." 

Thai  was  a  happy  conceit  —  so  Fuller  understands  it 
—  of  Dr.  John  ('olcl,  when  he  founded  St.  Paul's  School, 
London,  in  1512.  He  made  the  free  scholarships  lliero 
"a  hundred  and  fifty  and  Ihree,"  Ihe  number  of  St. 


206  THE    GENERAL,    OE 

Peter's  "great  fishes"  when  he  "cast  the  net  on  the 
right  side."  Good  fishermen  are  wont  to  make  good 
endowments,  as  well  as  to  remember  and  record  the 
exact  number  of  "  great  fishes."  I  am  not  advised  on 
the  point,  but  think  the  doctor  must  have  been  fond 
of  the  angle.  If  so,  the  world  of  letters  may  thank 
this  successor  of  St.  Peter  for  Milton,  and  Halley,  the 
great  astronomer,  for  they  were  educated  in  this  school 
of  fishes,  and  went  on  swimmingly  over  that  hard  bot 
tom  into  the  deeper  waters  of  Cambridge  and  Oxford. 

It  should  be  added  that  these  manly  sports  on  land 
and  water  have  much  to  do  with  the  stalwart  energy 
and  free  spirit  of  a  people.  The  man  who  ranges  the 
wilds  of  nature,  and  exercises  "dominion  over  the  fish 
of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  every 
living  thing  that  moveth  upon  the  earth,"  according 
to  the  divine  commission,  is  not  the  man  to  part 
readily  with  his  freedom  of  thought  and  of  conscience 
and  of  person.  It  was  New  England  fishermen  largely 
who  manned  victoriously  our  navy  in  three  wars. 
Lord  Wilton  well  says,  in  his  book  on  natural  sports, 
that  no  nation  devoted  to  manly  sports  can  fail  to 
flourish,  or  enjoy  political  freedom. 

This  familiarity  with  land  and  water  in  their  natu 
ral  and  unsubdued  state,  as  they  are  seen  in  the  higher 
grades  of  sporting,  has  much  to  do  in  promoting  a 
manly  independence.  So  there  was  deep  truth,  as 
well  as  the  deeper  humor,  in  Webster's  social,  depot 
kind  of  speech  at  Rochester,  after  they  had  shown  him 
Niagara  Falls:  "Men  of  Rochester,  go  on.  No  people 
ever  lost  their  liberties  who  had  a  waterfall  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  feet  high." 


CAMP.       207 

I  hope  these  supplementary  remarks  to  my  Eleventh 
Prelude  will  prove  conclusive  as  to  the  virtues  of  the 
goodly  art  of  angling.  It  only  remains  to  say  that, 
steadily  and  temperately  indulged,  it  promotes  length 
of  days.  Its  quiet  contrasts  strangely  with  the  fric 
tion  and  chafing  of  other  sports  and  indulgences  that 
so  soon  wear  one's  life  out.  Walton  died  at  the 
advanced  age  of  ninety,  "  in  the  great  forest  at  Win 
chester."  Jenkins,  who  lived  till  he  was  a  hundred 
and  sixty-nine  years  old,  was  a  Yorkshire  fisherman ; 
and  the  parish  record  of  Llanmaes,  Glamorgan  county, 
Wales,  has  the  following  original  entry:  "Ivan  Yorath, 
buried  a  Saturdaye  the  xiiii  day  of  July,  1621,  aged 
about  180.  He  was  a  sowdier  in  the  fighte  of  Bos- 
worthe,  and  lived  at  Lantwitt  Major,  and  hee  lived 
much  by  fishing." 

But  The  General  is  anxious  to  leave  Fort  Lararnie. 


208  THE   GENERAL,    OK 


THERE  AT  LAST. 

"  There  are  always  hanging  about  these  outposts 
of  the  frontier,  Indians,  trappers,  and  half-breeds  of 
both  the  French  and  Spanish  mixture,  who  are  ready  to 
serve  as  guides  for  the  travellers  over  the  mountains 
and  plains.  We  had  so  far  had  an  old  mountain  ranger, 
who  joined  us  at  Council  Bluffs;  but  he  knew  little  of 
the  regions  beyond  Laramie.  We  felt,  therefore,  the 
need  of  another  guide,  specially  as  several  routes  were 
talked  of,  and  no  one  of  them  was  very  well  known. 
As  we  had  concluded  to  go  by  the  South  Pass,  and 
Humboldt  and  Carson  Rivers,  we  wished  an  experienced 
guide,  who  would  take  us  over  that  route. 

"After  due  consultation' Gaspero  was  taken  for  our 
new  guide  and  interpreter.  He  was  one  of  those  in 
evitable  loungers  I  just  now  mentioned.  This  class  of 
people  are  very  fond  of  adventure  and  excitement,  and 
love  to  tell  of  their  hair-breadth  escapes  among  Indians 
and  wild  animals.  Gaspero  was  about  forty  years  old, 
had  been  in  the  mountains  eighteen  years,  and  was 
familiar  not  only  with  the  passes  through  the  wild 
country  and  plains,  but  was  well  versed  in  Indian  tricks 
and  the  habits  of  the  wild  game  which  he  had  so  long 
hunted.  His  tangled  locks  and  matted  beard,  innocent 
of  a  razor  for  years,  presented  the  appearance  of  any 
thing  but  a  pleasant  companion,  while  his  keen,  pier 
cing  black  eye  indicated  hate,  revenge,  and  deadly 
strife,  if  need  be.  He  rode  a  small  Spanish  mule,  a 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        209 

tough,  hard-looking  animal,  of  mottled  colors,  called  by 
the  trappers  the  Cricket  mule.  Quarters  were  assigned 
to  him  in  my  tent,  as  the  place  most  convenient  for 
consultation.  He  spoke  broken  English  very  well 
when  calm;  but  when  excited,  Spanish,  Indian,  and 
English  all  came  at  once,  a  perfect  jargon,  that  himself 
could  hardly  interpret.  He  was  very  fond  of  telling 
his  hard  stories  by  the  camp  fire,  and  spent  many  long 
evenings  in  this  way,  to  the  vast  entertainment  of  the 
crowd.  But  he  knew  the  country  well  from  Laramie 
to  the  Nevadas. 

"  With  such  a  guide  we  left  Fort  Laramie.  Follow 
ing  up  the  North  Platte  through  the  Black  Hills  for  a 
hundred  and  twenty-five  miles,  we  left  on  our  south  a 
river  that  we  had  learned  to  admire  and  love  while  we 
kept  it  company  for  more  than  six  hundred  miles.  It 
was  like  parting  from  an  old  friend.  We  had  camped 
on  its  banks,  drank  its  pure  waters  for  weeks,  and  now 
turned  our  backs  on  it.  Soon,  however,  we  made  the 
acquaintance  of  the  Sweet  Water,  a  river  flowing  from 
mountains  of  the  same  name,  .but  not  till  we  had 
known  the  discomforts  and  perils  of  being  without 
water.  Here  we  encamped  for  recruiting,  and  the 
hunters  feasted  us  on  the  antelope,  the  mountain  sheep, 
and  the  black-tailed  deer. 

"  One  evening,  as  a  large  company  of  us  were 
gathered  around  my  tent  fire,  Gaspcro,  who  had  been 
moody  and  sullen  for  some  days,  began  one  of  his 
mountain  yarns.  *  Here,'  said  he,  'is  the  very  place  we 
were  in  twelve  years  ago.  We  were  in  camp  yonder 
on  the  other  side  of  the  grove,  under  the  cliff,  and  we 
had  a-desperate  fight  with  a  band  of  Blackfeet.'  Then 
14 


210  THE    GENERAL,    OK 

knocking  the  ashes  from  his  pipe  —  a  signal  for  a  story 
—  he  began.  'There  were  about  twenty  of  the  rascals, 
and  only  six  of  us.  We  had  been  up  to  the  canon 
yonder  after  a  wounded  grizzly  that  the  boys  had  shot 
the  day  before.  We  had  killed  and  dressed  the  old 
gentleman,  and  after  cutting  off  as  much  as  we  could 
pack  in,  we  hung  up  the  balance.  Feeling  a  little 
hungry,  we  roasted  some  before  our  fire,  and,  after  eat 
ing,  started  for  camp  with  the  rest  lashed  to  our  backs. 
It  was  near  sundown  and  the  distance  ten  miles.  Now 
to  you,  boys,  it  don't  look  half  as  far;  but  I  tell  you,  if 
any  of  you  get  lost  about  here,  you'll  know  the  full 
length  of  the  roads.  You  see  the  air  is  so  pure  in  this 
mountain  range,  a  fellow  don't  know  distances  by  look 
ing.  Why,  you  can  see  an  antelope  five  miles,  and  tell 
him  from  a  deer ;  and  when  the  sun  shines  right  you 
can  see  even  the  white  stripes  along  his  sides.  A 
buffalo  shows  his  hump  that  distance  just  as  plain  as  a 
Blackfoot  does  his  teeth  when  a  bullet  disturbs  his 
in'ards.  You  need  not  follow  antelope  in  this  region; 
you  will  never  come  up  with  them. 

" '  Well,  as  I  was  saying,  we  had  strapped  on  our 
meat,  and  gone  about  a  mile  down  the  timber,  when, 
crossing  a  little  run,  one  of  the  boys  saw  a  moccason 
track  in  the  mud.  It  was  fresh,  and  the  little  bits  of 
sand  and  mud  left  on  the  grass  were  not  dry;  and  we 
knew  by  the  shape  of  the  foot  and  point  of  the  toes 
that  it  was  a  Blackfoot.  We  had  seen  no  Indians 
since  our  encampment.  We  were  just  leaving  a  gorge 
in  the  mountains,  and  following  a  skirt  of  timber  along 
the  open  prairie,  when  we  came  on  the  track  again. 
We  then  came  to  a  halt,  examined  our  rifles,  and  took 


211 

each  to  a  tree,  while  old  Pamaska,  a  Dakota  chief,  who 
was  with  us,  examined  the  trail  and  pronounced  it 
Blackfoot,  and  not  far  off.  The  Blackfeet  were 
Pamaska's  mortal  enemies.  He  had  often  fell  in  with 
them  in  the  mountain,  and  many  were  the  conflicts  the 
old  fellow  had  had  with  the  rascals.  Now  his  savage 
nature  was  aroused  by  the  prospect  of  a  fight  and  a 
scalp.  He  was  a  brave,  and  showed  no  fear.  Ordering 
us  "to  tree,"  he  followed  the  trail,  with  true  Indian 
instinct  and  caution,  into  a  gorge  among  the  cliffs. 
There  he  found  traces  of  their  recent  encampment,  and 
from  appearances  he  judged  their  band  to  contain 
about  twenty  persons.  The  ashes  of  their  fire  was  still 
warm,  and  we  presumed  they  were  then  acting  as  spies 
on  our  movements. 

"  '  Our  trail  lay  along  the  timber  another  mile,  when 
it  emerged  into  open  prairie  that  we  must  cross  before 
reaching  camp.  It  had  now  become  quite  dark,  and  a 
consultation  was  held  as  to  our  future  operations.  Our 
Dakota  taking  the  lead,  we  followed  cautiously  in  single 
file,  with  rifles  all  ready,  and  packs  so  that  we  could 
slip  them  on  the  instant.  As  we  arrived  at  the  point 
where  the  trail  left  the  timber,  and  were  bending  our 
course  into  the  prairie,  an  arrow  whizzed  past  the  ear 
of  old  Pamaska  ;  but  no  Indian  could  be  seen  or  heard. 
In  an  instant  we  dropped  our  packs,  and  fell  flat  on 
the  ground,  awaiting  the  attack.  Not  a  leaf  stirred  nor 
twig  cracked.  No  motion  of  the  enemy  told  their 
place  or  number.  Both  parties  lay  low,  awaiting  an 
onslaught.  The  Blackfeet  wanted  us  to  attack  and  be 
drawn  into  the  timber,  while  we  were  determined  to 
draw  them  into  the  prairie,  as  no  Indian  can  fight 


212  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

well  in  the  open.  If  the  dog  cannot  tree,  he  will 
run. 

"'Well,  the  moon  had  just  begun  to  light  up  the 
mountains,  and  we  could  distinguish  objects  at  a  little 
distance.  Gathering  our  packs,  we  crawled  off  a  dis 
tance  from  the  timbers.  It  was  too  dark  for  the  red 
skins  to  use  their  arrows,  and  we  could  get  no  clear  sight 
of  them  among  the  trees  and  underbrush.  In  case  of 
attack,  therefore,  you  see,  it  must  be  at  close  quarters, 
with  tomahawk  and  knife.  We  lay  for  an  hour  or 
more  in  the  grass,  awaiting  events,  and  then  cautiously 
started  on  our  way  for  camp  without  a  trail.  About 
two  miles  ahead  we  had  a  deep  ravine  to  cross,  through 
which,  in  the  wet  season,  a  creek  run  ;  but  now  it  was 
dry.  The  Indians,  when  they  found  we  had  with 
drawn  to  the  prairie,  run  down  the  timber  to  this 
ravine,  to  cut  off  our  approach  to  camp.  We  drew 
near  to  this  crossing  with  great  care,  fearing  an  ambush. 
We  had  nearly  reached  the  bed  of  the  creek  when  the 
whole  band  of  Blackfeet  sprung  on  us  with  a  fearful 
yell,  tomahawk  in  hand. 

"'Pamaska  discharged  his  rifle  first,  and  we  next,  in 
quick  succession,  but  mostly  at  random,  as  we  could 
only  hear  the  Indians  climbing  up  the  banks  of  the 
creek.  Our  packs  were  again  dropped,  and  our  rifles 
clubbed ;  and  as  the  Indians  came  up  the  bank,  we 
tumbled  them  back  again  with  heavy  blows,  killing 
some  and  wounding  others.  Enraged  at  defeat,  they 
fought  like  demons  in  a  renewed  attack,  and  at  this 
time  drove  us  from  the  ravine  into  the  prairie.  Here 
they  well  nigh  surrounded  us,  and  our  fate  seemed  in 
evitable,  when  Pamaska  singled  out  their  leader,  and 


closed  with  him  in  a  deadly  struggle.  This  renewed 
the  conflict  on  our  part  with  desperation,  and  knife  to 
knife.  Their  number  grew  less.  The  long  rifle  was 
evidently  too  much  in  its  wide  sweep  for  their  short- 
handled  tomahawk,  and  so  many  of  them  fell  wounded 
and  dead  that  victory  seemed  certain  for  us. 

"'The  fight -had  lasted  about  half  an  hour,  when  a 
yell  of  anguish  came  up  from  the  ravine.  We  rushed 
down  the  bank,  and  found  the  two  chiefs  locked  in  mor 
tal  combat,  the  Blackfoot  underneath.  Old  Pamaska 
had  his  knee  planted  on  the  breast  of  the  chief;  with 
his  left  hand  in  the  scalp  lock,  he  fastened  his  head  to 
the  ground,  and  in  his  right  glittered  the  fatal  knife. 
The  other  Indians  hastened  up,  but  we  kept  them  at 
bay  till  their  leader  had  his  last  grief  from  Pamaska's 
knife. 

" '  This  ended  the  struggle.  The  Indians  who  sur 
vived  made  good  their  escape,  carrying  off  what  they 
could  of  their  dead  and  wounded ;  but  Pamaska  secured 
the  scalp  of  the  chief,  and  one  or  two  more.  Two 
of  our  number  were  wounded  severely,  one  by  a  toma 
hawk  cut  on  the  shoulder,  and  the  other  by  a  bad  gash 
on  the  arm ;  but  both  recovered  in  a  few  weeks.  I 
broke  the  stock  of  my  rifle,  which  caused  me  much 
trouble  till  I  came  round  to  the  fort.  But  we  carried 
home  our  bear's  meat,  though  we  came  near  losing  our 
topknots.' 

"  '  Silence  was  broken  as  our  hero  interpreter  closed 
his  narrative,  and  the  men  scattered  to  their  tents  for 
the  night.' 

"  Our  course  now  lay  up  the  Sweet  Water,  a  beauti 
ful  mountain  stream,  flowing  forever  in  solitude,  and 


214  THE    GENERAL,   OB 

singing  its  own  music  to  the  shadows  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  The  valley  of  this  river  is  very  beautiful 
and  fertile,  and  furnishes  pasturage  to  vast  herds  of 
buffalo  that  gather  here  in  the  summer  months.  The 
current  is  swift,  and  generally  fordable,  and  we  fol 
lowed  it  far  up,  till  we  came  to  gorges  where  it  leaps 
from  the  mountain  in  a  number  of  little  silvery 
cascades. 

"  At  the  base  of  the  mountains,  just  where  one  begins 
to  climb,  is  that  great  landmark  of  travellers,  Indepen 
dence  Rock,  a  giant  bowlder,  probably  the  largest  on 
the  American  continent.  This  rock  is  nearly  two  hun 
dred  feet  high,  with  an  area  of  nearly  two  thousand 
square  yards.  It  is  wholly  separate  from  any  mountain 
range,  and  stands  isolated,  evidently  brought  there  in 
the  glacier  period,  in  one  of  those  immense  ice-floes  of 
higher  latitudes.  It  has  a  smooth  surface,  with  all  the 
appearance  of  having  been  ground  and  grooved  in  the 
glacier  process.  Here  caravans  rest  and  recruit,  and 
the  southern  front  is  covered  with  names  to  the  height 
of  ten  feet  and  more,  put  on  with  paint,  tar,  and  the 
like. 

"A  party  was  made  up  among  us  to  dine  on  the  top 
of  it.  We  made  the  ascent  by  Indian  ladders,  and  the 
aid  of  little  projections,  till  we  reached  a  graded 
crevice, .  and  by  it  the  summit.  It  was  a  dangerous 
undertaking,  but  we  achieved  it  without  accident,  and 
the  splendid  view  from  the  top  well  repaid  us.  Choice 
stores  were  taken  up,  such  as  canned  oysters,  sardines, 
buffalo  and  antelope  steaks,  together  with  fuel  and  the 
inevitable  coffee-pot.  Here  half  a  dozen  of  us  dined 
sumptuously  on  a  granite  table  eight  thousand  feet 


CAMP.       215 

above  the  level  of  the  sea,  drank  toasts  with  the  pure 
water  of  the  mountain,  made  speeches,  and  remem 
bered  the  dear  ones  at  home.  Long  will  the  memories 
linger  of  that  gathering  on  an  isolated  rock  in  the  val 
ley  of  the  Sweet  Water. 

"  Five  miles  from  this,  on  our  line  to  the  South  Pass, 
this  river  goes  through  what  is  called  the  Devil's  Gate. 
The  cut  is  through  limestone,  two  hundred  feet  deep 
and  one  hundred  broad,  and  about  one  thousand  long 
The  walls  are  perpendicular  and  smooth,  having  the 
finish  apparently  of  mason  work.  The  whole  body  of 
the  Sweet  Water  rushes  through  this  natural  canal  in 
the  rocks,  bounding  and  foaming,  and  throwing  up 
spray  like  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  or  Minnehaha. 
The  ascent  is  quite  difficult  and  dangerous,  owing  to 
huge  seams  and  chasms;  but  we  accomplished  it,  and 
viewed  from  the  giddy  top  the  wild  scene. 

We  were  now  fast  approaching  the  summit  level  of 
the  mountains,  and  the  scenery  in  many  places  was 
most  enchanting.  As  we  pressed  on  up  the  great 
dividing  ridge  between  the  two  oceans,  the  noble 
streams  that  we  had  been  following  so  long  dwindled 
into  little  rivulets.  Sometimes  we  were  compelled  to 
work  our  way  through  narrow  and  winding  defiles, 
and  as  often  came  out  into  beautiful  and  luxuriant 
valleys. 

The  train  had  now  come  within  fifty  miles  of  the 
highest  elevation,  and  was  following  the  winding  trail 
among  the  escarpments  of  sandstone,  looking  for  a 
place  of  encampment,  when  we  opened  on  one  of  those 
most  beautiful  and  enchanting  valleys,  blushing  and 
fragrant  with  flowers.  It  showed  no  human  habitation 


216  THE    GENEEAL,   OK 

or  trace  of  man,  but  was  as  silent  and  highly  adorned 
as  the  abode  of  pure  spirits.  The  guide  dismounted, 
and  all,  as  by  instinct,  began  to  pitch  their  tents  and 
light  their  fires.  The  animals  were  spancelled  and 
turned  loose,  the  guard  set,  wood  and  water  provided, 
the  daily  inspection  of  man,  beast,  and  wagon  gone 
through,  and  the  several  messes  took  their  evening 
meal,  and  retired  for  the  night. 

"The  morning  came  with  a  brightness  and  glory 
peculiar  to  the  climate.  It  was  the  morning  of  the 
holy  Sabbath,  a  day  that  we  had  uniformly  observed, 
from  the  first,  for  rest  and  for  sacred  purposes,  so  far  as 
the  men  were  inclined.  While  the  camp  was  yet 
sleeping,  I  arose  and  strolled  off.  The  stillness  of  the 
scene  was  very  impressive,  as  the  sun  began  to  light 
up  the  horizon,  and  touch  with  mellow  light  the  rugged 
hill-tops  that  shut  in  our  valley.  Not  a  sound  disturbed 
the  quiet  of  the  place,  not  even  the  note  of  a  bird.  The 
region  seemed  hallowed,  and  thoughts  of  God  and  of 
his  greatness  and  glory  went  up  like  incense  in  silence 
from  a  Jewish  altar.  My  feelings  led  my  steps,  and 
following  the  little  trail  of  the  mountain  sheep,  I  at 
length  gained  the  very  top  of  the  encircling  heights, 
and  had  a  full  survey  of  the  sublime  and  majestic 
scene. 

"The  snowy  peaks  could  barely  be  recognized  in  the 
distance,  the  plains  we  had  passed  were  almost  lost  to 
view,  and  the  South  Pass,  as  a  narrow  chop  in  the 
mountian  range,  just  showed  its  outline  on  the  open 
sky  beyond.  Here,  if  anywhere,  the  diviner  part  of 
man  will  lift  him  up,  and  purified  and  humbled  by  the 
surroundings  and  the  influence  of  the  holy  day,  his 


217 

thoughts  will  go  up  reverently  and  devoutly  to  the 
Creator.  At  least,  such  was  the  effect  on  me  as  I 
returned  to  camp. 

"And  here  another  scene,  in  perfect  keeping  with 
the  day  and  place,  awaited  me.  A  young  man  by  the 
name  of  Jones,  from  one  of  the  interior  counties  of 
Iowa,  had  joined  our  company  after  its  organization, 
with  the  hope  that  the  expedition  would  benefit  his 
feeble  health.  He  had  been  in  a  decline  so  long  that 
he  was  incurable.  His  brother  was  with  him,  and  the 
two  had  a  good  outfit,  and  were  not  dependent  on  the 
company  for  anything  but  protection  and  sympathy. 
The  invalid  won  the  good  will  and  tender  regard  of  all, 
specially  as  he  had  left  behind  a  wife  and  child  and  an 
indulgent,  loving  mother. 

"His  days  were  numbered  and  hastening,  and  he 
seemed  fully  aware  of  it,  yet  had  no  fears  of  the  great 
change.  He  often  rode  reclining,  and  in  such  a  way 
that  he  could  view  the  beauties  of  the  country  as  we 
passed  through.  As  we  entered  this  valley  the  evening 
before,  he  caught  a  glance  of  its  loveliness,  and  with  a 
sad  yet  sweet  smile  he  expressed  the  wish,  that  if  he 
must  die  in  the  mountains,  and  no  more  see  the  loved 
ones  at  home,  he  might  find  his  final  rest  in  that  valley, 
trusting  in  God  that  in  the  morning  of  the  resurrection 
he  should  not  be  forgotten.  His  wish  was  gratified, 
and  he  died  that  morning,  while  I  was  rambling  on  the 
mountains. 

"Just  as  the  last  sunbeams  were  burnishing  the  tops 
of  the  surrounding  hills,  we  moved,  in  solemn  pro 
cession,  to  a  knoll  at  the  head  of  the  valley,  and  there, 
beneath  the  spreading  boughs  of  a  pine  tree,  we  laid  the 


218  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

young  husband  and  father  in  his  rest.  It  was  a  mourn 
ful  and  instructive  scene,  as  the  twilight  fell  on  us 
around  his  grave.  All  was  still  save  the  sobs  of  a  fond 
brother,  when  I  broke  the  silence  by  reading  the  burial 
service  of  a  Christian  funeral,  only  adding,  <  The  sepa 
ration  will  be  short.  The  reunion  with  the  loved  ones 
will  soon  come.  Here  it  is  earth  to  earth,  ashes  to 
ashes,  dust  to  dust;  but  there  it  will  be  heart  to  heart, 
and  face  to  face.' 

"  The  next  day  we  moved  on,  one  less,  towards  the 
unchangeable  landmark,  the  South  Pass.  At  the  dis 
tance  of  fifty  miles  or  more,  it  has  the  appearance  of  a 
small  gap,  just  wide  enough  for  a  team  to  pass  through. 
But  as  one  draws  near,  it  widens  into  a  beautiful  prairie, 
quite  level  and  covered  with  grass.  Nearer  and  nearer 
we  came,  till  the  last  brook  running  towards  the  At 
lantic  had  disappeared,  and  we  were  on  an  elevated 
plateau,  where  the  waters  were  in  a  quandary  which 
way  to  run.  This  space,  where  Fremont  made  his 
summit  level,  is  not  more  than  a  fourth  of  a  mile  in 
extent ;  and  as  the  traveller  passes  along  to  its  western 
border,  he  finds  the  first  little  rivulet  that  runs  towards 
the  Pacific.  Here  an  encampment  was  ordered,  and 
we  entered  fully  into  the  enjoyment  of  the  scene  and 
of  our  circumstances,  giving  up  the  day  to  our  eyes. 

"Knowing  that  we  could  have  but  this  day  on  this 
ridge  or  water-shed  of  the  continent,  I  sot  myself  at 
once  to  the  fullest  indulgence  of  the  opportunity.  It 
was  an  occasion  to  which  I  had  long  looked  forward ; 
indeed,  it  was  one  of  the  ends  of  very  many  of  my  most 
ardent  wishes  and  hopes  from  childhood.  My  intimate 
companion,  S.,  and  myself  strolled  off  immediately, 


CAMP.       219 

and  were  soon  on  the  highest  point  of  rocks  that  over 
looked  the  vast  panorama.  The  great  basin  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  five  hundred  miles  in  extent,  was 
before  us,  destitute  of  wood,  water,  herbage,  or  tree, 
or  any  object  to  obstruct  the  sight.  On  one  side  of  us, 
far  up  the  north,  were  the  snow-capped  peaks,  though 
now  midsummer,  in  full  view. 

"From  my  earliest  youth,  as  I  well  remember,  my 
feelings  thrilled  me  when  I  read  or  heard  of  the  mys 
teries  locked  up  in  this  region.  Its  outlines  on  my 
little  school  atlas,  with  the  inscription,  Unknown  In 
terior,  created  an  intense  desire  to  know  about  it  by 
personal  examination.  This  desire  grew  and  strength 
ened  with  my  years,  till  it  became  a  passion  with  me ; 
and  I  had  been  for  a  longtime  approaching  this  spot,  as- 
the  sailor  in  beating  and  tacking  against  a  head  wind. 
First  it  was  Central  New  York,  then  Virginia ;  then  I 
stood  again  on  the  same  tack  to  the  Mississippi ;  then 
Wisconsin  Territory ;  then  the  Kansas  borders,  where 
I  laid  my  course  for  these  headlands,  midway  between 
the  two  oceans.  And  now  the  vision  of  my  youth  was 
a  reality,  the  hopes  and  wishes  of  my  childhood  had 
become  fact. 

"  I  also  remember  my  feelings,  when,  as  a  lad,  I 
read  of  the  covered  mysteries  of  this  wild  region.  How 
I  longed  to  go  over  the  plains,  now  behind  me  and  be 
fore  me,  to  hunt  the  buffalo  on  them,  and  to  climb,  till 
the  rivers  became  gurgling  brooks  and  springs  on  these 
heights !  Long  years  I  labored  for  it,  and  now  I  was 
repaid. 

"  To  the  north  lay  the  everlasting  snows,  and  above 
us  the  rocky  peaks  towering  into  the  clouds.  There  the 


220  THE    GENERAL,   OB 

intrepid  Fremont  threw  our  Stars  and  Stripes  to  the 
breeze.  Westward  is  the  Great  American  Basin,  or 
bowl,  of  five  hundred  miles  diameter.  Far  to  our  left, 
and  southerly,  like  a  half-coiled  serpent,  lies  Bear  River, 
in  dim  line,  emptying  far  away  into  Salt  Lake,  but  find 
ing  no  outlet  from  it,  except  by  evaporation.  We  note 
in  the  far  distance  rolling  piles  of  smoke  and  steam, 
reminding  one  of  Atlantic  cities.  They  arise  from 
burning  coal  mines  and  hot  springs,  whose  fires,  Indian 
tradition  says,  have  been  smouldering  from  the  day  of 
creation. 

"  We  are  on  the  land-crest  between  the  oceans.  Here, 
on  the  narrow  belt  where  we  are  standing,  the  waters 
divide  for  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific.  I  said  to  my  friend 
S.,  'Let  us  change  the  destiny  of  two  cupfuls.'  So  we 
walked  to  the  nearest  rivulet,  that  had  begun  its  tiny 
course  for  the  Pacific,  and  dipping  from  its  crystal 
waters,  we  carried  a  hunter's  cup  of  them  across  the 
dividing  ridge,  and  poured  them  into  a  babbling  brook, 
that  had  just  started  for  the  Atlantic. 

"Then  we  followed,  in  thought  and  conversation,  the 
water  that  would  have  been  but  a  swallow  for  the  buf 
falo,  down  into  the  Sweet  Water,  then  six  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  on  our  back  track  in  the  Platte,  then  eight 
hundred  down  the  muddy  Missouri,  and  thirteen  hun 
dred  more  down  the  Mississippi,  whose  tributaries  drain 
a  valley  in  which  scores  of  the  kingdoms  of  Europe 
and  the  old  world  could  be  hidden  away.  We  left  the 
solitary  cupful  to  its  changed  destiny,  and  long,  silent 
wanderings,  to  Atlantic  tide  waters,  and  then  balanced 
the  exchange  by  carrying  a  similar  portion  from  the 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS*    CAMP.       221 

Atlantic  slope  of  our  high  plateau,  and  starting  it  in 
the  head  springs  of  the  Columbia  for  the  Pacific. 

"  We  wandered  among  the  ridges  and  peaks  till  we 
clambered  the  highest  in  the  immediate  region,  and, 
there  seating  ourselves,  we  had  a  full  feast  of  the  eyes. 
.My  friend  had  been  in  foreign  lands,  seen  the  old  cities 
of  Europe,  bathed  in  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  and  threaded 
the  narrow  streets  of  Jerusalem ;  but  never  before  had 
he  seen  antiquities,  vastness,  and  glories  like  what  now 
surrounded  us. 

"It  must  be  delightful  to  follow  where  patriarchs 
pitched  their  tents,  to  ride  over  the  hills  of  Judea,  to 
enter  the  Holy  City  over  the  way  where  the  triumphal 
procession  followed  our  Saviour  with  palrns  and  hosan- 
nas.  But  it  must  be  mortifying  to  say  to  the  wandering 
Jew,  or  any  other  foreigner  in  those  stinted  ancient 
lands,  that  you  have  not  seen  Niagara  Falls  or  Minne- 
haha,  the  mouths  of  the  Missouri  or  a  prairie.  To 
'  travel,'  as  some  affect  and  delight  to  say,  when  they 
have  seen  nothing  of  the  vastness  and  richness,  the 
glorious  rivers  and  lakes,  mountains  and  forests,  and 
prairies  of  their  own  country,  is  not  my  passion.  My 
own,  my  native  land  first  for  travel,  as  it  is  in  rank,  and 
other  countries  afterwards." 

The  General  thought  the  summit  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  the  best  place  to  end  an  evening  story,  and  so 
stopped  suddenly,  to  the  surprise  and  regret  of  all.  We 
felt  this  the  more  as  but  one  night  now  remained  for  us 
in  camp,  and  we  could  not  see  how  he  could  take  us 
the  rest  of  the  way  to  the  Pacific  in  one  evening. 
But  we  were  obliged  to  content  ourselves  with  what 


222  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

we  had  of  the  story  of  his  eventful  life,  and  leave  him 
to  hurry  us  down  the  western  slope  of  that  ridge  of 
the  continent  in  his  own  time  and  way.  A  half  hour 
was  given  to  questioning  him  about  the  mountains; 
our  fur  trade  companions  talked  with  him  of  scenes  and 
trails  there  known  to  both  parties ;  and  the  changes  in 
that  wild  region  since  the  summer  of  1850  were  noted. 
By  and  by  the  conversation  fell  to  the  lot  of  two  or 
three  who  knew  the  route ;  the  others  dropped  off  one 
by  one,  and  at  length  all  retired  to  their  tents,  and  the 
sentinel  owls  went  on  picket  for  the  rest  of  our  Elev 
enth  Night. 


CAMP.      223 


TWELFTH  NIGHT. 

last  clay  in  camp!  That  has  an  unwelcome 
I  sound  to  the  sportsman's  ear.  It  suggests  the  last 
beat  down  the  creek,  around  the  cove,  up  the  lagoon ; 
the  last  evening  stand  for  geese  and  swan ;  the  last  calls 
on  the  duck  family,  from  the  comic  and  juicy  little  teal 
to  the  portly  alderman  mallard  with  his  aristocratic 
green  head.  The  frosty  morning  wash  at  log,  stump, 
and  camp  stove,  around  the  crackling  fire,  is  more  cosy 
and  chatty  than  usual ;  the  jokes  are  more  practical, 
and  the  laughs  louder.  You  see,  reader,  our  lungs  are 
better  than  when  we  entered  the  forest,  and  there  is  no 
danger  of  "disturbing  neighbors"  by  throwing  our 
feelings  quite  energetically  into  our  voices.  The  wash 
ing  does  not  give  our  faces  the  pale,  clean  look  we  had 
when  we  left  our  counter,  desk,  or  study,  though  Swan 
Lake  water  is  of  the  very  best  for  ablutions,  if  used  on  its 
shores.  What  a  breakfast  one  eats  the  last  morning  in 
camp !  Our  appetites  have  gone  on  increasing  in  a 
cumulative  ratio  now  for  fourteen  days,  and  Dock  has 
kept  his  table  temptingly  in  advance  of  us  in  variety 
and  abundance.  I  never  realized  before  into  how  many 
eatable  conditions  a  cook  could  put  a  webfoot  or  small 
quadruped. 

The  change  in  one's  physique  by  camping  out  is  a 
marvel.     The  first  day  the  nervous  man,  the  dyspeptic, 


224  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

the  feeble  clerk,  who  has  not  strength  enough  to  work 
his  molars  on  a  cracker,  fingers  the  food  very  delicately, 
and  for  Dock,  very  provokingly.  The  second  day  fair 
rations  are  drawn  and  disposed  of  legitimately.  The 
third  day  these  same  men  take  up  eating  as  a  business, 
and  as  the  days  go  by  it  increases  on  their  hands. 
Mark  another  fact  keeping  pace  with  this,  and  helping 
to  explain  it.  The  first  day  they  hung  about  camp,  and 
whittled,  and  read,  and  grew  very  tired.  It  was  a  kind 
of  sidewalk  life.  The  second  day  they  strolled  out  of 
sight,  with  gun  or  fishing-rod,  and  lost  their  way,  and 
found  an  appetite.  Before  the  week  was  gone  they 
cared  not  whether  they  lost  themselves  or  not,  but  to 
have  lost  one  meal  they  would  have  regarded  as  a 
calamity. 

The  air  in  that  wild  region  is  an  independent  fortune 
to  the  man  feebly  creeping  out  there  from  the  city.  At 
home,  in  his  office,  shop,  counting-room,  study,  or  bay- 
window  even,  he  does  not  get  one  cubic  inch  of  atmos 
phere  that  has  not  been  meddled  with  by  somebody. 
If  he  is  not  enjoying  a  stiff  north-easter,  his  city  air 
has  a  touch  of  Erin,  or  Holland,  or  both  in  it.  He  can 
tell  which  way  the  wind  is  by  the  odors  of  the  different 
back  alleys  that  he  knows  so  well. 

But  throw  back  the  fly  of  your  tent  in  the  early 
morning,  step  out,  and  fill  your  lungs,  and  you  feel  that 
there  is  more  nourishment  in  such  air  than  in  boarding- 
house  soup.  No  mortal  ever  snuffed  that  air  before. 
It  is  not  second-hand.  You  have  it  pure  from  the  man 
ufactory.  You  have  been  breathing  it  all  night,  charged 
with  the  exquisite  aroma  of  your  hemlock  or  prairie- 
grass  bed. 


CAMP.      225 

A  jaded,  worried  man,  you  felt  poorly ;  entered  Na 
ture's  hospital  on  Swan  Lake,  under  the  superintendence 
of  Dr.  Nimrocl ;  took  fish-hooks  every  other  day,  alter 
nating  with  number  six  shot ;  shouldered  Edward 
Winslow's  Puritan  "fowling  peeee,  fearing  not  the 
waight  of  it;"  and  now,  just  breaking  camp  for  home 
you  are  a  new  man,  after  the  short  treatment  of  four 
teen  days.  The  marvel  has  been  wrought  by  a  com 
bination  of  causes,  centring  in  "  a  lodge  in  some  vast 
wilderness." 

What  we  shall  do  for  relief  and  recuperation  I  know 
not,  when  every  Umbagog  has  a  steamer  on  it,  and 
every  White  Mountain  has  a  railroad  to  its  top,  and 
every  charming  nook  of  wilderness  has  a  first-class 
hotel  and  dress  dinners.  For  the  joys  and  profits  of 
the  camp  lie  in  its  difficulties,  physical  exertions,  deni 
als,  and  glorious  distances  from  anybody.  I  am,  I 
think,  profoundly  grateful  for  the  architecture  of  our 
domain,  in  that  it  has  some  mountains,  and  morasses, 
and  river  gorges,  that  railroads,  and  Saratoga  trunks, 
and  bills  of  fare,  can  never  annoy. 

Yes,  on  this  last  hunting  morning  in  Swan  Lake 
camp,  we  are  a  brown,  hungry,  healthy-looking  group 
of  fellows.  Our  muscle  is  not  flabby;  there  is  nothing 
weak  about  our  lungs,  and  no  "melancholy  crack"  in 
our  laugh. 

Xow  for  a  careful  hunt  for  the  rarest  bits  and  the 
best  of  game,  for  other  hands  must  grace  other  tables 
with  the  spoils  of  to-day.  We  are  making  up  parcels 
to  go  home  with  us.  The  seven  dogs  and  the  seven 
boats  must  do  their  best.  All  the  ground  is  thoroughly 
known,  each  cover  and  range  of  flight,  and  minimum 
15 


226  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

bay,  and  jam  of  drift  wood,  wild  rice  patch,  and  scanty 
puddle  far  out  in  the  tall  bottom  prairie  grass. 

Early  evening  brings  us  all  in,  and  no  one  ashamed. 
The  record,  or  journal  rather,  of  the  encampment  reads 
well.  Evidently  some  of  the  best  of  the  queen's  wild 
fowl  had  come  over  the  border  for  our  special  benefit 
and  honor  at  home.  The  saplings,  that  have  noAv  seen 
service,  bend  under  the  trophies.  We  are  not  timid 
about  seeing  a  steamer,  or  a  city  where  we  are  well 
known.  Our  credentials  are  ample  and  of  the  best 
authority.  They  are  from  the  first  families  of  the  first 
settlers  of  the  country. 

But  we  are  to  make  an  important  movement  to 
night.  Last  night  The  General  gave  us  all  free  lodging 
on  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  To-night  we 
hope  to  sleep  in  San  Francisco.  So,  supper  being  over, 
we  hurry  to  our  blazing  camp  fire  to  take  an  early  start, 
and  all  together  for  the  Pacific. 

The  General  is  not  hard  to  start  off  on  a  story  of 
personal  adventures,  and  he  got  under  way  as  soon  as 
Dock  had  started  a  roaring  camp  fire,  and  hushed  up 
with  a  supply  of  bones  three  or  four  growling  dogs. 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS*    CAMP.        227 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN. 

"  I  believe  I  left  you  all  sleeping,  in  my  life-narrative, 
last  night,  in  the  upper  story,  the  very  attic  of  North 
America.  I  hope  you  had  pure  air  and  a  good  view  of 
sunrise.  I  also  hope  that  you  are  well  refreshed  by 
your  mountain  sleep,  for  it  is  a  long  trail  I  shall  lead 
jmi  before  you  make  camp  to-night.  I  mean  you  shall 
hear  the  breakers  of  the  Pacific  before  you  strike  our 
next  camp  fire.  Fortunately  our  course  is  now  down> 
rather  than  up,  the  continental  slope,  and  we  shall 
make  easy  speed. 

"  Our  company  bade  adieu  to  the  delightful  spot  and 
panorama,  of  which  I  told  you  last  eve,  and  at  early 
morn  we  commenced  our  descent  of  the  mountains. 
Three  miles  from  the  summit  we  made  a  brief  halt  at 
Pacific  Springs,  noted  for  their  pure  water  and  rich 
grass.  Here  we  took  a  lingering  and  last  look.  In 
our  rear,  and  a  little  to  the  left,  was  Pike's  Peak,  with 
its  white  cap  of  winter  still  on.  A  little  farther  along 
was  Spanish  Peak,  and  to  the  north  Fremont's  and  other 
noted  landmarks.  Forty  miles  away  on  the  right  were 
the  TVind  River  Mountains,  full  of  wild  and  glorious 
nooks  of  scenery. 

"Bnt  we  took  our  farewell,  and  passed  on  over  the 
Dry  Sandy,  then  the  Little  Sandy,  and  then  the  Big 
Sandy  Rivers,  from  the  last  of  which  we  found  neither 
water  nor  grass  for  twenty  miles.  After  a  weary 
plodding  of  sixty-five  miles  we  came  to  Green  River, 


228  THE    GENERAL,    OK 

one  of  the  most  beautiful  streams,  with  the  most  charm 
ing  valley  of  all  the  mountains.  And  I  know  not 
which  enjoyed  it  most,  we  or  our  animals.  Here  we 
found  encamped  some  Snake  Indians  and  half-breed 
Spaniards,  from  whom  we  obtained  a  supply  of  jerked 
buffalo  meat.  Since  we  left  the  South  Pass  we  had 
been  in  the  Snake  Indian  territory.  They  are  a  fine 
specimen  of  the  mountain  tribes,  being  well  built,  and 
well  dressed,  and  athletic,  as  well  as  friendly. 

"  The  river  here  was  a  hundred  yards  wide,  and  gen 
erally  fordable.  Like  many  other  mountain  streams,  its, 
mouth  was  not  then  known.  Strange  stories  were  told 
by  the  Indians,  and  traders,  too,  of  the  wonderful  appear 
ance  of  some  of  its  valleys.  They  say  that  one  of  them 
is  in  a  state  of  petrifaction,  the  trees  in  full  leaf,  flowers 
in  bloom,  birds  on  the  limbs  in  natural  colors,  and  deer 
feeding  on  the  green  and  glassy  fields,  and  all  done 
into  stone,  as  if  the  vast  work  of  an  artist.  They  called 
it  the  land  of  the  Great  Spirit,  said  their  fathers  had 
visited  it,  and  offered  to  take  me  to  see  it,  if  I  would  go. 

"  We  bore  away  westward,  leaving  the  Bear  River 
Mountains  and  Salt  Lake  more  than  a  hundred  miles 
to  the  south,  passing  hot  and  cold  springs,  as  well  as 
copperas  and  soda,  and  over  a  country  intolerably  rocky, 
reaching  the  head-waters  of  the  Humboldt  on  the  6th 
of  June. 

"  Here,  for  the  first  time,  our  animals  showed  serious 
signs  of  weakness  and  breaking  down.  They  had  had 
a  good  supply  of  grass,  and  been  carefully  driven,  but 
had  drank  water  affected  more  or  less  by  alkali,  while 
the  juices  of  the  grass  probably  carried  the  same  poison. 
The  high  waters  of  the  Humboldt  drove  us  to  the  moun- 


CAMP.     229 

tains,  and  into  difficult  passes.  We  were  now  in  the 
Ute  Indian  country,  and  entering  that  of  the  Root 
Diggers.  Our  progress  was  slow  and  wearying,  and  we 
left  our  evening  camp  fire  for  our  tents  and  blankets  at 
an  early  hour,  usually,  and  some  of  the  men  began  to 
feel  that  California  gold  would  cost  them  a  hundred 
cents  to  the  dollar.  The  heavy  snows  of  1849-50  had 
swelled  all  the  streams,  and  so  we  were  often  detained 
in  crossing.  Frequently  the  horses  were  detached  from 
the  wagons  to  swim  over,  while  the  goods  were  ferried 
over  in  such  wagon-bodies  as  were  water-tight,  while 
the  running  gear  and  other  carriages  were  hauled  over 
by  ropes.  This  had  more  work  than  romance  in  it,  and 
it  is  much  prettier  to  read  of  it  in  a  book  than  to  do  it 
in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Fuel  was  scarce,  the  only 
growth  of  this  barren  region  being  the  wild  sage,  a 
dwarf  bush  three  feet  high. 

"  We  started  Gaspero's  memory  of  a  promise  of  that 
other  story  about  a  'fight  with  the  Utes;'  but  the  toils 
of  the  journey  had  made  him,  like  the  rest  of  us,  quite 
willing  to  take  all  the  sleep  that  our  camping  would 
allow.  For  now  our  animals  were  so  reduced  that  we 
were  all  obliged  to  walk,  relieving  them  of  every  article 
of  luggage  that  could  possibly  be  thrown  away  or 
packed  by  ourselves. 

"  We  were  now  among  the  Root  Digger  Indians,  the 
most  extensive  tribe  on  the  western  slope,  and  extend- 
in  «•  from  the  head  of  the  Humboldt  to  California  and 

£3 

Oregon.  They  are,  emphatically,  the  wild  Indian  of 
the  mountains,  and  the  most  ignorant,  degraded,  and 
filthy  of  all  the  tribes  of  North  America.  With  a  low, 
flat  forehead,  they  have  no  intellect,  little  clothing,  and 


230  THE    GENEEAL,    OE 

no  wigwams,  living,  like  wild  animals,  in  caves  and 
burrows.  They  have  no  horses  or  mules,  and  seem  to 
know  of  no  use  for  a  domestic  animal  except  for  food. 
They  have  no  fire-arms,  but  use  the  bow  with  great 
skill.  Of  course  I  am  speaking  of  them  as  they  then 
were,  thirteen  years  ago.  They  live  on  roots,  seeds, 
acorns,  lizards,  .snakes,  frogs,  and  grasshoppers.  They 
may  be  seen  in  the  early  morning,  on  the  sunny  slopes, 
gathering  the  seeds,  wild  oats,  and  grasshoppers  into  a 
huge  conical  basket  suspended  from  the  forehead  and 
hanging  on  the  back.  It  will  hold  a  bushel  or  more, 
and  comes  to  a  point  at  the  bottom.  The  squaw  takes 
the  cover  of  the  basket  in  one  hand,  and  while  the 
grasshopper  climbs  to  the  top  of  the  grass  or  wild  oats 
to  get  the  rays  of  the  warm  sun,  she  scoops  or  mows 
it  off,  with  the  motion  of  one  cradling  grain,  at  each 
swoop  emptying  the  contents  of  the  lid  into  the 
basket  at  her  back.  "When  the  grasshoppers  become 
warm  enough  to  fly,  she  puts  on  the  cover  of  the 
basket  and  returns  to  the  wigwam.  Here  a  fire  is 
kindled  in  the  pot  made  in  the  sand  and  lined  with 
fire  clay.  When  this  is  hot  the  fire  is  taken  out,  and 
the  grasshoppers  put  in  and  baked.  The  seeds,  oats, 
and  acorns  are  dried  and  parched  in  the  same  way; 
and  then  they,  with  the  insects,  are  pulverized  to 
gether  and  baked  into  bread. 

"Fish  is  a  great  article  of  food  with  them,  and  they 
are  very  expert  in  spearing  the  salmon.  They  often 
follow  the  emigrant  trains  down  the  Ilumboldt  for  days, 
picking  up  cast-off  clothing,  scraps  of  iron,  buffalo 
robes,  now  burdensome  in  that  latitude,  and  also  for 
the  purpose  of  shooting  any  stray  ox  or  horse,  that 
they  may  have  it  for  food. 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        231 

"  One  night,  while  we  were  encamped  in  a  little 
valley,  surrounded  by  hills  and  sand  plains,  the  scar 
city  of  feed  had  compelled  us  to  turn  the  animals 
loose,  and  give  them  a  wide  range,  though  still  keeping 
guard  on  them.  The  midnight  watchman,  when  he 
came  in,  failed  to  arouse  f Lilly  his  successor  before  he 
turned  in,  and  so  the  animals  were  without  guard  for 
perhaps  half  an  hour.  The  Diggers,  who  had  been 
lying  in  watch  and  wait  for  any  such  chance,  suddenly 
encircled  five  of  them,  and-  started  them  oil  for  the 
mountains.  We  roused  the  camp,  but  no  trace  or 
trail  could  be  found  till  morning.  We  then  followed 
them  eleven  miles  into  the  mountains,  where,  among 
the  gorges,  we  discovered  two  of  the  animals  skinned 
and  ready  for  cutting  up  and  drying,  and  a  third  dead. 
They  had  all  been  shot  with  arrows.  The  last  one 
killed  showed  that  the  arrovphad  made  a  clean  pas 
sage  through  the  heart,  and  entered  a  sand  bank 
beyond,  where  we  found  it  still  sticking.  But  no  In 
dians  could  be  found.  The  other  two  horses  came  into 
camp  afterwards  with  arrows  hanging  in  their  flesh, 
which  we  drew  out,  healing  the  wounds. 

"At  the  Sink  of  the  St.  Mary  we  made  .a  long  halt,  to 
recruit  and  preparo  grass  for  the  passage  of  the  Desert. 
This  Sink  is  where  the  Ilumboldt  spreads  out  and  loses 
itself  in  the  sands  of  the  barrens.  Whether  it  reap 
pears  after  a  subterranean  passage,  or  there  ends  in 
absorption  and  evaporation,  we  could  not  learn. 

"Great  need  we  had  for  rest  at  this  place,  for  we 
were  much  exhausted,  both  men  and  animals,  and  the 
great  Sahara  of  North  America  was  before  us.  We 
found  it  necessary  not  only  to  rest  and  recruit,  but 


232  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

also  to  reconstruct  our  entire  train.  We  had  become 
reduced  to  a  few  teams.  Some  had  found  it  difficult 
to  travel  as  fast  as  others,  and  so  had  fallen  behind 
into  other  parties.  Some  had  lost  a  part  of  their 
horses,  and  were  compelled  to  linger  and  unite  with 
others  following  us,  who  were  in  a  similar  condition. 
We  were  all  reduced  to  foot  travel  and  short  rations." 
The  Desert  before  us  was  eighty-five  miles  wide,  with 
out  wood,  water,  or  grass,  with  the  thermometer  at 
one  hundred,  often,  in  the  shade.  Of  course  hay  must 
be  made  and  packed  to  take  the  animals  over.  To 
do  this  we  waded  in  the  overflow,  cut  the  grass  under 
water  with  our  belt  knives,  backed  it  to  shore,  and 
dried  it  on  the  burning  sand.  The  water  cans  and 
kegs  were  filled,  enough  for  man  and  beast,  and  all 
surplus  baggage,  and  every  article  of  weight  or  bulk 
that  could  possibly  be  spared,  were  thrown  aside,  to 
make  our  perilous  trip  as  expeditious  as  possible. 

"We  struck  out  on  -the  barren  waste  at  four 
in  the  afternoon,  and  did  not  stop,  except  for  feeding 
and  rest  of  an  hour  or  two  at  a  time,  till  we  reached 
the  Salmon  Trout  River.  But  it  was  too  much  for 
many  of  the  already  exhausted  animals.  Some  died 
on  the  way,  and  others  after  we  were  across. 

"Now  our  real  troubles  began.  Up  to  the  time  of 
crossing  the  Desert  provisions  had  been  plenty,  and  no 
particular  disasters  had  occurred  to  hinder  our  prog 
ress.  Cut  now  our  animals  were  worn  out,  through 
want  of  feed  and  by  use  of  the  alkali  waters.  Having 
lost  two  of  my  own  beasts,  I  abandoned  my  wagon 
at  Salmon  Trout  River,  threw  away  nearly  all  my 
camp  furniture,  tent,  axes,  and  spades,  and  reduced 


my  baggage  to  the  smallest  possible  compass.  We 
made  pack-saddles  from  the  spokes  of  an  abandoned 
wagon,  of  which  there  were  many  along  the  road, 
and  so  carried  the  little  \ve  kept.  Our  entire  party 
was  now  reduced  to  live  men,  four  mules,  and  three 
horses.  The  rest  of  our  original  train  were  scattered 
along  the  route  behind  ns. 

"  Though  now  over  the  Great  Desert,  we  frequently 
found  ourselves  on  smaller  ones  of  twenty  and  thirty 
miles,  destitute  of  all  vegetation  or  water.  A  party 
just  in  advance  of  ns  showed  the  straits  and  perils 
of  the  California  emigrant  of  those  days.  xYs  we 
came  on  their  nightly  camping  grounds,  we  invariably 
found  the  skeleton  of  a  mule  that  they  had  slaugh 
tered  for  meat.  These  sights  much  discouraged  my 
men  when  they  counted  the  long  and  weary  miles  be 
fore  them,  and  estimated  their  scanty  supply  of  buffalo 
meat  and  hard  biscuit,  now  reduced  to  one  per  man 
a  day. 

"  At  length  one  of  my  horses  gave  out  for  want  of 
feed.  Then  we  were  two  days  without  food  on  the 
small  sand  deserts,  leading  our  pack  animals  under 
the  burning  sun.  On  the  third  morning  I  shot  two 
sage  hens,  and  in  the  evening  a  mountain  hare,  all  of 
which  we  devoured  at  a  meal,  in  our  encampment  on 
Carson  River.  Hero  another  horse  failed  us,  and  was 
left ;  but  the  mules  kept  up,  though  very  weak. 

"Again  we  made  a  reduction  of  our  luggage,  cast 
ing  off  all  but  our  guns,  a  small  supply  of  ammunition, 
a  few  articles  of  extra  clothing,  and  my  surveying 
instruments.  We  had  now  travelled  about  four  hun 
dred  miles  on  foot,  and  were  near  to  the  end  of  our 


234  THE    GENEEAL,    OR 

hard  journey,  though  we  did  not  know  it.  For  our 
guide,  Gaspero,  had  long  since  deserted  us,  and  at  that 
early  day  no  one  was  returning  from  California,  whom 
we  could  meet  and  question  of  our  position. 

"  It  was  now  the  Gth  of  July,  and  we  were  en 
camped  on  a  rivulet,  but  without  food  of  any  kind. 
Many  were  the  plans  and  suggestions,  at  that  gloomy 
camp  fire,  for  the  safety  of  the  party. 

"  To  kill  a  mule  that  was  so  poor  he  could  hardly 
stand  alone  was  revolting,  and  our  last  horse  was  not 
more  tempting  flesh.  Oar  ignorance  of  our  position 
and  distances  was  distressing,  and  the  desponding, 
hopeless  feelings  of  the  party  shook  not  a  little  my  own 
usual  determination.  I  appealed  to  the  love  they  bore 
for  those  left  behind  and  at  home  to  keep  up  courage 
arid  renew  their  energies.  One  of  my  men  was  a 
Frenchman  by  birth,  and  his  terrors  at  the  thought  of 
starvation  were  intense.  We  were  all  lame  from  travel, 
but  no  one  felt  that  he  had  a  right  to  think  of  starva 
tion  while  the  horse  or  a  mule  yet  lived.  Our  great 
anxiety  and  most  oppressing  thoughts  were  as  to  our 
location.  We  knew  not  where  wo  were,  and  the 
Desert  seemed  endless. 

"  It  was  finally  agreed  that  I  should  push  on  ahead 
in  the  morning,  since  the  animals  could  not  travel  as 
rapidly  as  I  could  walk,  and  find  relief  and  send  it 
back.  So,  at  early  dawn  I  started,  following  the  Car 
son  River  over  a  rough  and  barren  country.  At  noon 
the  oppressive  heat  and  my  own  weak  condition  com 
pelled  me  to  take  shelter  under  an  oak  for  an  hour  by 
the  trail.  As  I  started  on  again,  descending  a  hill,  I 
met  a  man  with  a  double  team  and  wagon,  loaded 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        235 

with  supplies.  Some  humane  Mormons,  living  at  the 
base  of  the  Nevada,  on  the  Carson  River,  were  expect 
ing  friends  over  the  plains,  and,  fearing  they  might  be 
in  n  starving  condition,  had  sent  out  this  man  to  meet 
them  with  supplies.  His  provisions  consisted  of  salt 
pork  and  Hour.  lie  informed  me  that  I  was  not  more 
than  one  dav  from  the  Mormon  settlement',  where  I 
could  obtain  all  I  wished  to  take  my  party  through. 
He  gave  me  a  pound  of  pork  and  a  cup  of  flour,  and 
promising  to  relieve  my  men,  we  parted.  I  took  the 
pork  in  my  hand,  and  poured  the  flour  into  my  hunt 
er's  pouch.  Under  the  terrible  gnawings  of  hunger  I 
ate  both  uncooked,  dipping  the  pork  into  the  flour  and 
eating  as  I  went.  The  next  day  at  noon  I  entered  the 
Mormon  station,  and  my  wants  were  amply  met.  In  a 
few  days  the  rest  of  my  advance  party  came  in,  and, 
after  recruiting,  we  crossed  together  the  Nevada  be 
tween  the  12th  and  15th  of  July.  On  those  heights 
we  passed  chasms  yet  filled  with  snow,  probably  a 
hundred  feet  deep.  No  further  incidents  of  special 
interest  occurred,  and  in  due  time  we,  the  jaded  five, 
slept  in  San  Francisco." 

The  last  night  in  Swan  Lake  camp,  and  the  last  of 
the  Twelve  Stories  of  The  General!  I  think  I  had 
best  not  pause  to  tell  how  late  our  fires  burned  that 
night,  and  what  shorter  stories  were  told  of  fowl,  and 
fish,  rncl  animals  of  the  chase,  and  cosy  camps  nearer 
home  than  the  Rocky  Mountains.  If  we  had  a  second 
supper,  and  every  one  took  from  the  larder  what  game 
he  pleased,  and  cooked  it  in  his  own  way,  it  does  not 
concern  my  reader  so  much  as  it  did  Dock  in  the 


236  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

morning,  when  he  suggested  that  some  of  Mosby's 
guerrillas  had  made  a  raid  on  our  commissary  tent 
while  we  slept.  Perhaps  I  need  not  speak  of  midnight 
guns  mysteriously  rousing  our  encampment,  and  the 
sound  of  dipping  paddles  and  war-whoops  out  on  the 
lake,  as  if  some  of  the  ghosts  of  Black  Hawk's  braves 
were  back  from  the  hunting-grounds  of  the  blessed  to  be 
revenged  on  the  pale  faces.  I  think  our  camp  was  not 
as  quiet  and  orderly  that  night  in  the  small  hours  as  a 
young  ladies'  boarding-school,  where  they  all  sleep  to 
order  and  sneeze  by  rule. 

The  morning  at  length  came,  as  it  is  apt  to  do,  what 
ever  the  night  may  have  been,  and  with  it  the  teams 
to  haul  us  out;  and  also  a  powerful  raiii  storm  came,  I 
know  not  for  what  purpose.  Whether  for  us  or  not  I 
cannot  tell,  but  we  had  the  principal  advantages  of  it 
while  we  packed  and  loaded,  in  its  drenching  and  pelt 
ing.  We  kept  the  fires  going  and  the  tents  standing 
to  the  last.  When  finally  we  struck  them,  and  stepped 
out  into  the  cold  world,  we  found  ourselves  on  equal 
footing,  literally,  with  the  webfeet  and  squatter  sover 
eigns  of  the  region.  We  came  out  from  our  camping- 
grounds  as  we  went  in,  by  land  and  water,  though, 
technically  speaking,  we  made  our  exit  on  wheels. 
Sleet,  snow,  and  slosh  greeted  us,  with  the  evening,  at 
Xew  Boston,  and  we  greeted  a  supper,  and  in  a  very 
friendly  way.  The  hot  viands,  good  fires,  and  dry 
clothes  made  a  merry  company  of  us,  and  we  lost  no 
time  in  moody  melancholy,  while  waiting  for  an  up 
ward-bound  steamer.  Late  in  the  evening  her  whistle 
broke  in  on  our  story -telling  and  laughing,  and  again  we 
crowded  her  with  men  and  dogs,  boats,  tents,  luggage. 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        237 

and  game.  The  spoils  of  our  raid  on  Swan  Lake  were 
the  general  centre  of  observation  and  admiration. 
Who  can  look  on  a  large  collection,  variety,  and  fine 
specimens  of  game  from  prairie,  woodland,  and  river, 
and  not  linger  to  inquire,  and  be  pleased,  and  sur 
prised  ? 

As  we  passed  the  opening  to  Sturgeon  Bay  on  the 
right,  and,  some  time  after,  the  low,  fiat  belt  of  timber 
lying  between  us  and  our  favorite  lake,  we  turned 
wishful  eyes  towards  the  dark  shore,  and  the  grove  of 
our  encampment  by  the  outlet  of  that  beautiful  water. 
It  had  been  a  kind  of  paradise  to  us,  and  our  tent  had 
stood  by  that  stream  somewhat  as  Adam  and  Eve's  in 
their  forest  life.  For  we  are  told  that  "  a  river  went 
out  of  Eden,"  and  I  suppose  our  first  parents  had  their 
bough-house  on  its  banks.  Nor  is  it  strange  that 
"some  natural  tears  they  dropped"  when  they  left  it. 
We  could  sympathize  with  them. 

A  night  and  a  morning  and  we  were  home. 

Our  camp  life  at  Swan  Lake  was  too  short  by  at 
least  ten  days.  Not  that  this  amount  of  added  time 
would  have  satisfied  us  in  concluding  the  hunt.  I 
know  not  what  number  of  days  would  have  served  for 
that.  At  least  I  never  saw  enough  at  one  time  in  any 
one  camp.  The  true  sportsman  always  Wants  one 
more  shot  and  bite.  Our  time  was  short  for  The  Gen 
eral,  as  he  was  only  midway  in  his  life  stories.  He  had 
come  down  only  to  1851,  and  the  opening  of  California. 
The  ten  years  following  to  him,  some  of  us  knew,  had 
been  full  of  incident  and  romance  in  frontier  excursions 
and  pioneer  life. 


238  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

Iowa  had  become  a  state  only  five  years  before 
(1846),  and  he  had  had  much  to  do  in  unfolding  her 
resources,  and  making  them  known  at  home  and  abroad. 
The  first  map  of  Iowa  Territory  he  published,  from 
personal  surveys  and  observation,  about  1845,  the  result 
of  labor,  at  intervals,  of  three  years.  A  new  edition 
of  this,  with  notes,  was  published  in  1854,  and  many 
were  led  to  settle  and  invest  in  the  new  state  from  the 
information  it  gave  them ;  and  works  more  recent  on 
Iowa  have  been  much  indebted  to  it  for  valuable  facts. 

From  his  being  in  the  Public  Surveys  for  so  many 
years,  and  from  his  personal  knowledge  of  the  state 
and  general  land  interest,  he  was  able  to  do  much  in 
settling  Iowa;  and  he  probably  did  more  than  anyone 
man,  first  and  last,  to  bring  in  immigrants  and  locate 
them. 

With  Scott  county,  his  adopted  home,  he  was  inti 
mately  familiar,  and  had  written  out  its  full  and  de 
tailed  history,  drawn  from  its  few  records,  old  settlers, 
and  his  own  personal  knowledge.  This  has  been  pub 
lished  in  the  Historical  Annals  of  Iowa. 

Ten  years  of  such  frontier  life,  while  the  Territory 
is  passing  into  the  noble  State,  must  be  full  of  thrilling 
incidents  with  a  man  of  stirring  and  moulding  energies, 
such  as  The  General  had.  We  greatly  regretted,  there 
fore,  that  we  had  not  a  few  nights  more,  in  which  he  could 
bring  us  down  in  his  narrative  nearer  to  our  own  time. 
He  had  so  much  to  tell  of  the  first  log  cabins  and  frame 
houses,  the  first  bridge,  and  church,  and  school-house, 
the  first  wedding  and  funeral,  the  first  corporate  meet 
ings  of  the  people,  and  struggles  for  the  county  seat  by 
imported  voters  and  citizens  of  a  day.  He  was  full  of 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS7 

reminiscences,  too,  of  the  ruder  and  rougher  social  life, 
that  must  accompany  the  pioneer's  axe  and  breaking- 
up  plough.  There  had  been  their  early  rollicking,  and 
junketing,  and  merry-makings,  where  now  are  cities, 
and  palace  homes,  and  a  graded  society. 

There  were  many  incidents,  too,  in  Indian  life  with 
which  he  was  familiar  in  Iowa  and  its  borders,  in  those 
twilight  times,  when  the  gloomy  shadows  of  the  wig 
wam  were  giving  way  before  the  rising  light  of  the 
settlement  and  village.  His  business  had  taken  him, 
with  the  Congressional  Commission,  over  the  grounds 
and  among  the  survivors  of  the  terrible  Minnesota 
Massacre,  in  which  fifteen  hundred  whites  were  killed 
by  the  savages  in  all  strange  and  barbarous  methods. 
He  had  given  to  the  public  the  most  accurate  and 
graphic  account  of  this  tragedy  that  has  been  pub 
lished,  and  we  wished  much  to  have  it  from  his  own 
lips.  It  was  just  the  place  to  tell  and  hear  it,  by  that 
camp  fire,  under  those  grand  old  hickories,  and  on 
grounds  where  many  an  Indian  romance  had  been 
acted  out. 

But  our  camp  and  narrative  were  broken  up  together, 
for  business  men  made  up  the  company,  and  office  calls 
were  too  imperious  to  allow  longer  sporting  and  story 
telling. 

Even  then  The  General  was  planning  a  tour  of  ex 
ploration  and  trade  to  Idaho  and  Montana.  For  about 
one  year  before,  in  July,  1862,  the  two  brothers  Fair- 
weather  had  discovered  gold  where  now  stands  Vir 
ginia  City,  Montana ;  and  by  December  over  two 
thousand  persons  were  there  digging  it.  With  his 
characteristic  love  of  adventure,  travel,  and  business, 


240  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

The  General  headed  a  company  for  this  region  in  the 
spring  of  1864,  the  season  following  our  Swan  Lake 
encampment. 

I  can  here  travel  out  of  and  ahead  of  my  sketching 
only  to  say,  that  this  trip  to  Virginia  City,  full  of  nov 
elty,  peril,  and  enterprise,  was  performed  by  the  over 
land  route,  with  a  private  outfit  of  four  persons,  four 
horses,  and  ten  mules,  in  one  hundred  and  six  days,  the 
distance  being  sixteen  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  The 
return  was  made  late  in  the  same  year  by  stage.  In 
1865  he  made  another  excursion  to  Idaho  and  Montana, 
by  the  Missouri  River,  a  distance  of  over  three  thou 
sand  miles,  on  one  boat,  from  St.  Louis  to  Fort  Benton. 
Of  both  these  excursions  The  General  took  full  notes 
—  a  habit  with  him  from  early  life  —  which  were  pub 
lished  in  The  Boston  Review  for  1865  and  1866.  These 
published  Notes  will  interest  any  one  who  wishes  to 
see  wild  life  on  the  prairies  and  mountains,  the  Indian 
on  his  good  and  bad  side,  the  buffaloes  on  a  promenade, 
the  grizzly  without  a  cage,  and  the  man  who  means  to 
get  a  fortune,  without  wrork,  by  pick  and  spade  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 

I  have  made  this  wandering  from  Swan  Lake  to 
Montana,  and  gone  two  years  forward  from  our  break 
ing  camp  there,  to  introduce  the  last  story  of  The 
General.  "While  starting  on  his  last  western  trip,  he 
promised  my  four  children  A  Christmas  Story,  written 
out,  since  he  could  not  come  on  to  tell  it  to  them. 
The  material  of  the  promised  story  came  to  hand  on 
this  wise  :  — 

In  this  excursion  up  the  Missouri,  The  General,  on 
the  steamer  Roanoke,  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow- 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS'    CAMP.        241 

stone  on  Bunker  Hill  day,  1865,  and  afterwards  rounded 
to  at  Fort  Union,  five  miles  above.  This  point  is 
twenty-two  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles  above  St. 
Louis.  This  is  the  land  of  the  Assiniboins,  a.  branch 
of  the  great  Sioux  nation.  Strolling  among  their 
lodges  while  the  boat  was  lying  to  at  the  levee,  he 
gathered  the  incidents  and  details  of  the  thrilling  nar 
rative.  If  my  boy-readers  wish  to  make  it  more  like 
the  stories  of  Swan  Lake,  and  more  befitting  the  wild 
scenes  it  describes,  they  had  best  read  it  some  dark 
autumn  evening  by  a  camp  fire  in  the  back  of  the  gar 
den,  or  over  the  hill. 

16 


242  THE    GENERAL,   OB 


CHIN-CHA-PEE,  THE  MAID  OF  THE  ASSINIBOINS. 

"As  we  were  strolling  among  the  lodges  of  the 
Assiniboins  with  the  interpreter,  a  half-breed  French, 
whose  home  has  always  been  among  them,  and  who 
very  well  knew  the  individual  history  of  almost  the 
whole  tribe,  we  tarried  a  moment  before  a  more  than 
usually  neat  and  tasty  wigwam,  varying  a  little  in  its 
structure  from  others,  and  having  a  slight  enclosure 
upon  one  side  protecting  some  beautiful  mountain  flow 
ers  in  full  bloom.  Our  guide  seemed  to  have  a  little 
pride  in  lingering,  while  we  examined  the  rude  but  neat 
little  flower  garden.  The  mountain  lily,  with  its  long 
tapering  leaves  and  slender  stems,  loaded  with  its  crim 
son  blossoms,  seemed  the  most  prominent  of  the  group  ; 
although  the  pine-apple  cactus,  with  its  many-tinted 
colors,  was  beautiful,  and  seemed  to  acknowledge  a  care 
and  attention  not  common  in  savage  life. 

"  When  we  turned  to  pursue  our  way,  we  found  our 
guide  had  strayed  inside  the  lodge,  and  was  engaged 
in  conversation  with  some  one  whose  sweet,  silvery 
voice  attracted  our  attention  at  once.  'We  stood  for  a 
moment  at  the  entrance,  when  lie  invited  us  in,  and 
waving  his  hand  towards  an  Indian  woman,  in  a  kind 
of  French  salute,  simply  said,  Chin-cha-pec. 

"  She  was  dressed  in  the  fine,  soft  skins  of  the  moun 
tain  sheep,  richly  embroidered  with  beads  and  the 
quills  of  the  porcupine.  A  double  row  of  elk  teeth, 
neatly  fastened  to  a  strip  of  blue  cloth,  surrounded  the 


TWELVE    NIGHTS   IN   THE    HUNTEBS'   CAMP.       243 

bottom  of  her  dress,  while  her  beautiful  neck  was  load 
ed  with  strings  of  beads  of  many  colors.  In  her  hand 
she  held  a  curiously  carved  stick,  or  paddle,  the  usual 
implement  for  digging  the  'kamas  root'  or  the  cpomme 
blanche,'  a  kind  of  prairie  turnip,  that  grows  here  in 
great  abundance,  and  is  very  nutritious  for  food. 

"  She  was  evidently  about  leaving  the  lodge  for  the 
purpose  of  procuring  her  vegetables  for  dinner.  Her 
features  were  far  from  those  common  to  her  race  ;  and 
although  a  tinge  of  sadness  could  be  traced  upon  her 
face,  yet  none  that  beheld  her  could  help  but  acknowl 
edge  that  she  had  once  been  beautiful.  A  kind  of 
melancholy  seemed  settled  upon  her  countenance ;  and 
as  we  scanned  her  genteel  form,  and  the  neat  apart 
ment  she  occupied,  we  longed  to  know  her  history, 
feeling  that  some  hidden  sorrow  was  slowly,  but  surely, 
wasting  a  life  at  once  romantic  and  interesting;.  As 

O  O 

we  bade  her  adieu,  and  were  passing  out,  she  raised  her 
dark,  piercing  eyes,  and  fixing  them  fully  upon  us, 
seemed  to  inquire  our  business  there,  but  never  spoke. 

"  We  passed  on  through  the  village,  and,  with  the 
excuse  of  weariness,  seated  ourselves  upon  a  log,  under 
the  shade  of  a  wide-spreading  cottonwood,  asking  the 
interpreter  for  the  past  history  of  Chiu-cha-pee,  the 
Firefly. 

"  The  Assiniboins  and  Blackfeet  have  ever  been  the 
most  bitter  enemies.  War  parties  are  formed  on  both 
sides,  and  scarcely  a  year  passes  now  that  does  not  find 
them  engaged  in  deadly  strife. 

"  The  former  chief  of  the  Assiniboins,  Tehetka,  the 
most  noted  leader  that  ever  governed  that  tribe,  was 
an  unscrupulous,  ambitious  man,  another  Blackbird 


244  THE    GENERAL,    OB 

in  atrocity  and  crime,  and  often  resorted  to  poison  to 
rid  himself  of  his  political  enemies.  He  died  by  his 
own  hand. 

"  His  successor  to  the  chieftainship,  We-non-ga,  was 
brave,  fond  of  war,  and  ever  seeking  an  opportunity  to 
go  against  the  Blackfeet,  their  most  implacable  enemy. 
In  their  annual  hunt  for  the  buffalo  they  often  ap 
proached  the  hunting-grounds  of  the  Blackfeet,  at  the 
base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  always  taking  with  them, 
on  such  occasions,  the  squaws,  to  cure  and  dress  the 
meat  and  skins ;  as  an  Indian  never  does  anything,  as 
a  hunter,  but  kill  the  game. 

"  It  was  early  in  September,  many  years  ago,  that 
We-non-ga  summoned  his  warriors  and  hunters  to  as 
semble  at  their  village  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow 
stone,  preparatory  to  the  fall  hunt. 

"  One  beautiful,  sunny  morning,  after  the  buffalo  feast 
had  been  duly  celebrated  by  dancing  and  feasting,  he 
set  forth  with  four  hundred  of  his  choicest  hunters  and 
warriors,  taking  with  him  his  only  daughter,  Chin-cha- 
pee,  the  Firefly,  whom  we  saw  this  morning,  then 
about  eighteen  years  of  age,  the  first  time  she  had  ever 
been  permitted  to  leave  the  paternal  roof,  as  was  the 
custom  for  maidens  of  her  age  to  do.  The  mother  was 
left  at  home,  and  it  was  with  many  fears  that  she  part 
ed  with  her  only  child,  well  knowing  the  dangers  to 
which  she  was  exposed.  She  was  attended  by  her 
cousin,  Vi-oli-noti,  Mountain  Lily.  She  was  mounted 
on  a  most  beautiful  cream-colored  charger,  her  favorite 
steed  in  all  her  rambles  over  hill  and  prairie  around 
her  native  village. 

"  Her  boon  companion  was  ever  by  her  side,  for  she 


245 

was  like  a  sister,  and  the  only  one  she  ever  knew.  She 
rode  a  no  less  spirited  pony  than  that  of  Firefly,  al 
though  not  as  beautiful,  nor  so  richly  caparisoned. 

"  These  two  maidens  did  not  attend  the  expedition 
as  laborers,  nor  were  they  expected  to  fill  any  particu 
lar  position,  but  as  daughters  of  the  chief,  beloved  by 
all,  and  having  due  respect  shown  them  by  the  whole 
camp.  Their  apartment  was  in  the  chief's  lodge,  which 
was  ever  guarded  with  double  care. 

"It  was  one  of  those  Indian  summer  evenings,  when 
the  soft,  hazy  atmosphere  settles  down  in  sweet  silence, 
and  all  nature  seems  sinking  to  rest,  that  the  first  camp 
was  made  up  the  valley  of  the  Yellowstone.  For  long 
hours,  by  the  light  of  the  moon,  did  old  warriors,  ex 
pert  hunters,  young  maidens,  and  wooing  lovers,  sit 
around  their  camp  fires,  or  wander  upon  the  banks  of 
that  sweet-flowing  river,  talking  of  the  past,  enjoying 
the  present,  or  speculating  upon  the  future.  They  were 
upon  their  own  lands,  and  felt  secure. 

"  Firefly  and  Mountain  Lily  sauntered  arm  in  arm 
around  the  camp,  accompanied  at  times  by  some  young 
braves,  companions  of  their  early  youth.  All  was  glee 
and  mirth.  Unalloyed  pleasure  seemed  to  reign  su 
preme  throughout  the  camp  of  this  free  and  happy 
people. 

"The  morning  came,  and  with  it  the  usual  routine 
of  cainj)  life,  to  gather  the  vast  herd  of  ponies,  strike 
the  encampment,  pack  the  train,  and  take  up  the  line 
of  march.  Thus,  day  after  day,  the  expedition  passed 
on,  killing  by  the  way  the  smaller  game,  the  deer,  the 
antelope,  and  fishing  from  the  stream. 

"  Alter  many  days  they  reached  the  mouth  of  the 


246  THE    GENEEAL,    OR 

Big  Horn  River,  intending  to  hunt  between  the  Judith 
and  the  Big  Horn  Mountains. 

"  Their  main  camp  was  fixed  on  a  little  creek  near 
the  Yellowstone,  in  a  gorge  of  the  mountains,  opening 
out  on  the  broad  prairie,  facing  the  east.  There  was  a 
high  point  of  bluff  in  tho  rear  of  the  camp,  from  whence 
could  be  seen  the  loose  stock,  the  buffalo,  or  an  enemy 
approaching,  and  a  watch  was  constantly  kept  there 
during  the  day,  as  a  kind  of  sentinel.  A  few  days  after 
the  encampment  was  made,  late  in  the  evening,  buffalo 
were  seen  off  in  the  distance  some  two  miles.  All 
necessary  preparations  were  made  that  night.  The 
ponies  were  corralled,  the  quivers  of  the  hunters  were 
filled  up,  and  the  bow  new  strung.  The  sentinel  descend 
ed  from  his  lookout,  and  reported  the  probable  number, 
the  course  they  were  travelling,  and  the  looks  of  the 
ground  over  which  the  chase  might  extend. 

"The  chief  of  the  hunters  then  assigned  to  each 
squad  the  position  they  were  to  occupy,  the  manner  of 
attack,  and  to  what  distance  the  chase  might  extend, 
that  parties  might  not  get  separated,  and  captured  by 
the  Blackfeet.  The  buffalo  song  was  chanted,  the 
Good  Spirit  invoked  by  the  incantations  of  the  prophet 
of  the  tribe,  who  always  attends  these  armed  hunts, 
then  all  retired,  to  be  ready  to  start  by  the.  early  dawn. 

"Long  before  the  clouds  began  to  brighten  in  the 
east,  the  camp  was  full  of  life  and  activity. 

"The  warrior  and  hunter  laid  off  his  wampum,  and 
his  paint  was  washed  from  his  face.  Every  unnecessary 
encumbrance  was  lard  aside, 'and  nothing  but  the  knife 
and  belt,  the  quiver  and  the  bow,  was  to  be  seen  about 
him.  The  simple  trappings  of  the  hunter's  horse  and  his 


CAMP.     247 

saddle,  his  bridle,  and  his  lasso,  fastened  to  the  bow  of 
his  saddle,  with  his  short  whip  hanging  from  his  wrist 
by  a  buckskin  string. 

"  The  squaws  were  no  less  busy  in  preparing  their 
pack-saddles,  ropes  and  lariats,  knives,  hatchets,  and 
sacks,  to  follow  in  the  hunters'  track,  and  commence  the 
work  of  butchering  as  soon  as  game  was  killed. 

"  The  party  moved  at  daylight,  separating  into  small 
bands  as  soon  as  the  position  of  the  herd  was  ascer 
tained.  When  the  attack  was  made  from  the  farthest 
point  of  the  drove,  in  order  to  force  them  towards 
the  camp,  all  lay  in  ambush,  until  they  should  rush  upon 
the  hunter,  receive  a  discharge  of  arrows,  and  wheel  in 
another  direction.  Then  all  the  bands  met  them,  when 
in  dismay  the  poor  animals  run  in  every  direction, 
being  enclosed  in  a  circle  by  the  hunters,  from  whom 
there  was  but  little  chance  to  escape. 

"  Personal  combats  are  often  entered  into  between 
a  wounded  bull  and  an  unsaddled  hunter. 

"The  rage  of  the  wounded  animal  becomes  terrific, 
and  nothing  but  the  cool  courage  of  the  Indian  and  his 
trusty  bow  can  save  him.  from  a  horrible  death. 

"  The  chase  lasted  some  three  hours,  when  the  ex 
cited  hunters,  with  their  panting  steeds,  drew  up  in 
the  centre  of  the  field  of  action,  upon  a  high  piece  of 
prairie,  overlooking  the  slaughter-pen  of  the  chase. 

"  A  long  string  of  pack  animals  was  seen  wending 
their  way  back  to  camp,  loaded  with  meat  and  skins, 
while  the  prairie  was' spotted  with  slain  and  wounded 
buffalo. 

"  One  hundred  and  seventy  were  killed  this  day,  and 
their  meat  and  skins  taken  to  camp. 


248  THE   GENERAL,   OB 

"  The  scene  presented  in  camp  was  now  all  life  and 
animation.  The  choice  bits  of  the  buffalo  were  laid 
aside  for  the  feast  and  dance,  which  always  follows  a 
successful  hunt.  Then  are  all  made  happy, 

"The  old  warriors  and  hunters  preside,  and  their 
children  and  friends  carry  their  precious  morsels.  The 
chief  of  the  hunters  is  toasted,  and  he  who  has  slain 
many  is  loaded  with  presents.  The  feast  ends  by  set 
ting  aside  an  offering  to  the  Great  Spirit,  which  is  laid 
upon  poles  outside  of  the  lodge. 

"  And  now  follows,  day  after  day,  the  dressing  of 
hides,  and  drying  of  meat  which  is  to  furnish  food  for 
the  winter  months  when  no  game  can  be  found. 

"  The  skins  are  stretched  first  upon  the  ground,  with 
the  flesh  side  up,  and  with  a  paddle,  the  end  of  which 
is  full  of  notches,  like  saw  teeth,  the  squaw  cleans  off 
all  flesh  and  grease ;  and  when  sufficiently  dried,  they 
are  strained  on  bars  and  poles,  like  cloth  on  the  frames 
of  a  dyer. 

"  The  meat  is  cut  into  thin  slices,  and  dried  in  the 
sun ;  and  strange  as  it  may  seem,  thousands  of  pounds 
are  annually  preserved  in  this  manner  without  the  loss 
of  a  pound,  and  without  salt. 

"  But  to  return  to  the  story  of  Chin-cha-pee.  While 
the  various  tribes  were  at  the  trading-post  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Yellowstone,  as  was  their  usual  custom,  both 
friend  and  foe,  to  dispose  of  their  furs ;  and  before  the 
setting  out  of  this  expedition,  a  party  of  Blackfeet, 
headed  by  a  young  chieftain,  had  determined  on  fol 
lowing  the  trail  of  We-non-ga,  and,  watching  the  op 
portunity,  not  only  to  steal  horses  and  take  scalps,  but 
to  capture  Firefly  and  Mountain  Lily,  and  bear  them 


CAMP.     249 

in  triumph  to  the  village  of  the  Blackfeet.  No  oppor 
tunity,  however,  was  presented  on  the  route. 

"  They  had  seen  the  maidens  often  at  their  town,  in 
their  gay  plumage,  riding  about  the  fort  upon  their 
matchless  steeds,  or  sauntering  at  twilight  along  the 
banks  of  the  river,  but  never  so  far  from  the  protection 
of  the  fort  as  to  allow  them  the  attempt  of  capture. 
They  therefore  followed  the  camp  of  We-non-ga  until 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Horn,  and  then  secreted 
themselves. 

"  At  the  hunting  camp  the  maidens  were  cautious, 
and  ever  on  the  alert, well  knowing  the  danger;  but  in 
the  excitement  of  success,  the  pleasure  of  a  life  so  new 
and  full  of  romance,  they  became  careless,  and  often 
forgot  themselves,  riding  beyond  reach  of  succor  from 
the  camp,  and  sometimes  out  of  sight,  unprotected  and 
alone.  Several  times  they  followed  the  chase,  but  the 
sport  soon  became  uninteresting  to  them. 

"  One  day,  when  near  the  close  of  the  hunt,  and  the 
meat  sufficiently  dry  to  pack  in  bundles,  the  skins  all 
dressed  to  snowy  whiteness,  and  the  ponies  fat  for  their 
return  trip,  the  two  girls  were  riding,  as  usual,  up  the 
little  creek  upon  which  they  were  encamped,  which 
was  skirted  with  timber,  and  without  any  attendant, 
when,  seeing  some  uncommonly  brilliant  flowers  upon 
the  opposite  bank,  they  dismounted.  Tying  one  of  their 
ponies,  and  leaving  the  other  to  graze,  they  crossed 
over  upon  a  fallen  log,  and  were  busily  engaged  in 
gathering  flowers,  when  five  Indians  rushed  in  between 
them  and  their  horses,  rendering  their  escape  impossi 
ble.  To  their  horror  they  soon  discovered  them  to  be 
Blackfeet. 


250  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

"Lily,  who  was  the  more  timid  of  the  two,  sent 
forth  a  most  heart-rending  scream,  while  Firefly  stood 
the  very  image  of  Indian  defiance  and  revenge.  Her 
noble  bearing  for  a  moment  riveted  the  intruders  to  the 
spot  with  awe  and  admiration,  as  she  stood  with  arms 
folded,  holding  in  one  hand  her  gathered  flowers  rest 
ing  on  her  heaving  bosom. 

"  In  a  moment  she  recognized  in  the  leader  of  the 
party  the  young  Blackfoot  chieftain,  whom  she  had 
often  seen  at  her  home,  in  her  rides  and  walks  around 
her  village.  Firefly  now  comprehended  all. 

"  The  young  chief  had  followed  her,  with  a  few  trusty 
men,  and  she  was  a  prisoner  among  the  hated  Black- 
feet,  the  bitter  enemy  of  her  father  and  of  his  tribe. 

"  Slowly  and  gently  the  young  chieftain  approached 
her,  and  calling  her  by  name,  asked  her  to  accompany 
him  to  his  country  and  his  wigwam,  telling  her  that, 
although  their  tribes  were  enemies,  yet  peace  and 
happiness  might  reign  in  their  lodge  in  the  mountains, 
in  the  land  of  the  Blackfeet.  He  told  her  of  his  family 
distinctions,  of  their  prowess  in  w^ar,  of  the  scalps  his 
own  brave  hand  had  taken ;  he  told  of  his  admiration, 
his  long  pent-up  love,  of  the  days  and  weeks  he  had 
followed  her  trail  to  make  her  his  own. 

"  Chin-cha-pee  stood  like  a  statue  of  marble,  immov 
able,  and  not  a  word  escaped  from  her  half-parted  lips. 

"The  chief  motioned  to  his  attendants,  the  ponies  of 
Firefly,  and  Lily  were  crossed  , over  the  creek  to  them, 
and  they  were  mounted,  an  Indian  leading  each  by  the 
bridle  up  the  creek,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  to  where 
the  ponies  of  the  Indians  were  concealed  in  the  bushes. 
All  were  now  soon  on  the  way.  Following  up  the  creek 


1 


'  •''' ^N     '"'' 


to  its  source,  and  striking  a  dividing  ridge  upon  the 
broad  prairie,  they  followed  it  in  a  northern  direction 
all  that  day.  Night  coming  on,  they  encamped  in  a 
deep  ravine,  where  the  ponies  could  find  grazing.  No 
fires  were  made,  as  they  might  aid  the  pursuers  in  their 
course.  A  sort  of  bower  was -built  for  the  girls  out 
of  some  blankets,  and  the  horses  were  tethered  and 
guarded.  The  night  passed  quickly  away,  for  it  was 
late  when  the  encampment  was  made.  The  chief  and 
one  of  the  Indians  stood  sentry  for  the  night.  They 
left  with  the  light  of  day.  They  followed  all  day  along 
this  same  ridge  until  near  night,  when  they  struck  the 
head-waters  of  a  creek  that  emptied  into  the  Mussel- 
shell  River,  down  which  they  travelled  till  late  in  the 
evening.  All  efforts  to  induce  Chin-cha-pee  to  enter 
into  conversation  \vere  in  vain.  She  would  not  even 
speak  to  her  captors.  With  true  Indian  stoicism  she 
maintained  her  self-possession,  and  never  for  even  once 
did  the  sound  of  her  voice  escape  her  lips.  Once  during 
the  sleepless  night  did  she  whisper  words  of  solace  to 
the  weeping  Lily,  who  so  keenly  felt  her  horrible 
condition. 

"  Thus  did  the  wearisome  days  and  nights  wear  away. 
No  hope  of  escape  offered,  although  the  girls  were 
allowed  to  ride  their  own  ponies,  the  fleetest  in  the 
party;  but  they  were  led  by  two  Indians. 

"  Every  day  added  to  the  distance  of  separation  from 
all  they  loved  on  earth.  Awful  and  bitter  were  the 
reflections*  that  continually  crowded  in  their  minds ; 
but  all  was  covered  in  their  own  bosom.  Firefly 
never  allowed  her  emotions  to  betray  the  agony  of  .her 
soul  to  her  captors. 


252  THE    GENEEAL,   OE 

"  On  the  tenth  day,  in  the  evening,  the  party  ar 
rived  at  the  village  of  the  Blackfeet,  on  Musselshell 
River,  and  the  prisoners  were  conducted  to  the  lodge 
of  an  aged  squaw,  and  given  into  her  keeping. 

"The  young  warrior  chieftain  had  never  yet  suc 
ceeded  in  extracting  a  single  word  from  the  lips  of 
Chin-cha-pee.  Lily  had  answered  some  questions  for 
the  young  Blackfoot,  for  he  could  speak  with  fluency 
the  language  of  the  Assiniboins. 

"  But  to  return  to  the  hunting  camp  on  the  Yellow 
stone.  Deep  was  the  sorrow  and  loud  were  the  lamenta 
tions  of  that  camp  when  night  came  and  the  two 
maidens  came  not  with  it.  All  night  long  did  the 
agonized  father  and  chief  walk  up  and  down  the  camp, 
heaping  imprecations  on  the  Blackfeet,  and  beseeching 
his  warriors  to  go  upon  the  trail  with  the  light  of  the 
day,  and  as  it  dawned,  twenty  picked  men,  with  the 
fleetest  steeds,  were  in  pursuit ;  but  missing  the  trail  at 
first,  they  had  to  return  to  the  place  of  capture,  and  it 
was  long  before  they  were  fairly  on  the  way. 

"  They  followed  for  several  days,  often  finding  signs 
left  upon  the  bushes  by  Firefly  and  Lily,  where  they 
had  staid  over  night,  such  as  twigs  broken  and  bark 
peeled  from  little  limbs  by  the  teeth  of  the  girls.  The 
sign  was  well  understood ;  but  to  overtake  them  was 
impossible,  and  they  returned  to  the  camp  with  black 
ened  faces,  indicative  of  the  frowns  of  the  Great  Spirit, 
and  the  deep  sorrow  and  misfortune  that  had  come 
over  them. 

"  We-non-ga  ordered  an  immediate  return  home  of 
the  whole  party  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  which 
place  they  reached  after  a  march  of  some  fifteen  days. 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTFRS'    CAMP.        253 

"  Quickly  the  news  spread  over  the  village  of  the 
capture  of  Chin-eha-pee  and  Vi-oli-noti. 

"  A  grand  council  of  the  tribe  was  summoned,  and  all 
the  warriors  ordered  upon  the  war-path  against  the 
Blackfeet.  l  For,'  said  We-non-ga  to  his  tried  and  faith 
ful  men,  as  he  addressed  them  in  council  assembled, 
'I  have  often  led  you  to  the  battle-field,  and  lifted  the 
scalp  from  the  Blackfoot.  We-non-ga  is  no  coward;  he 
never  fears  the  foe.  You  see,  my  brave  warriors,  my 
face  is  painted  like  the  burnt  prairie,  and  my  eyes  are 
red  with  blood  [vermilion] ;  but  I  cannot  go  upon  the 
war-path  now.  I  am  overwhelmed  with  grief.  I  am 
broken  down  like  a  woman,  and  must  weep ;  for  my  child, 
my  lost  Chin-cha-pee,  and  her  whom  I  love  next,  are 
prisoners  in  the  village  of  the  Blackfeet.  The  light  of 
my  wigwam  has  gone  out.  I  sit  in  darkness.  The 
Great  Spirit  turns,  away  his  face.  O,  my  brave  war 
riors,  bring  to  my  deserted  lodge  Chin-cha-pee  and  the 
Lily  of  the  Mountain,  and  make  my  heart  glad,  before 
I  go  to  the  good  hunting-ground,  to  the  island  of  the 
blest.  The  Great  Spirit  will  guide  you  on  the  trail,  and 
the  war-song  of  my  people  shall  be  sung  each  night  as 
the  sun  goes  down  behind  the  dark  hills  beyond  the 
prairie.  I  have  spoken.j 

"  It  is  customary,  on  every  occasion  of  a  grand  coun 
cil,  for  all  young  braves,  and  others  who  may  be  entitled, 
to  present  themselves  for  service  in  the  war-party. 
Some  brave  act  is  necessary  to  insure  admittance,  un 
less  it  be  by  some  special  permission  of  council. 

"  Among  the  youths  that  were  candidates  for  admis 
sion  wras  a  young  brave  by  the  name  of  Ta-to-kah-nan, 
The  Antelope.  He  was  the  companion  of  Firefly  and 


254  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

Lily  in  all  their  juvenile  sports  in  earlier  days;  was  in 
the  expedition  when  the  girls  were  captured,  and  felt 
most  keenly  the  sad  event,  particularly  as  he  had  a 
special  interest  in  the  safe  return  of  Firefly. 

"  He  had  never  distinguished  himself  sufficiently  to 
entitle  him  to  the  war-path ;  but  being  the  son  of  a 
brave,  active,  energetic,  and  a  good  marksman,  his  ap 
plication  was  received,  and  he  was  placed  upon  the  list 
to  give  him  a  chance  to  show  his  bravery.  And  he 
longed  for  some  opportunity  to  carry  trophies  of  victory, 
and  lay  them  at  the  feet  of  Firefly,  the  chieftain's 
daughter. 

"  The  feast  and  the  war  dance  were  celebrated.  The 
prophet  and  medicine  men  of  the  tribe  had  consulted 
the  tutelary  spirits,  and  early  one  morning,  late  in 
October,  the  war-whoop  was  sounded,  and  five  hun 
dred  Assiniboin  warriors,  mounted  on  their  best 
horses,  left  the  village  for  the  home  of  the  Blackfeet, 
on  Musselshell  River,  more  than  five  hundred  miles 
distant.  The  command  of  the  expedition,  in  the  ab 
sence  of  We-non-ga,  was  intrusted  to  the  second 
chieftain  of  the  tribe,  Wa-to-rae-ka,  lie  that  runs  fast. 
Striking  up  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  waters  of 
the  Yellowstone  and  the  Missouri,  they  travelled  late 
and  early,  until  they  reached  the  land  of  the  Blackfeet, 
when,  by  slow  and .  cautious  marches  at  night,  they 
came  within  about  thirty  miles  of  their  village.  Here 
they  secreted  themselves  in  a  little  valley,  surrounded 
by  hills,  and  sent  forth  spies  to  the  camp  of  the  enemy. 
Among  this  number  was  young  Ta-to-kah-nan.  They 
travelled  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  and  secreted 
themselves  by  day.  The  village  of  the  Blackfeet  was 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS*    CAMP.        255 

situated  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  having  a  kind  of 
amphitheatre  of  prairie  hills  on  the  north  and  east, 
some  of  which  ranged  near  to  the  village.  Over  one 
of  these  hills  was  a  ravine  with  a  cluster  of  trees  and 
thick  underbrush,  a  kind  of  an  oblong  grove,  running 
to  a  point  as  it  came  up  towards  the  summit. 

"  In  this  point  of  timber,  Ta-to-kah-nan  secreted  him- 
selfj  from  which  he  could  at  all  times  crawl  to  the  brow 
of  the  hill  unobserved,  and  get  a  complete  view  of  the 
village. 

"  The  spies  had  met  with  but  one  small  camp  of  the 
Blackfeet,  and  this  was  but  a  few  miles  from  their 
village.  In  the  dead  of  night,  they  crawled  upon  them, 
and  each  to  his  man  ;  they  slew  them  all,  five  in  number. 
Ta-to-kah-nan  in  triumph  slung  his  scalp  in  his  girdle, 
and  the  next  morning  found  him  in  the  point  of  timber 
above  described,  with  his  war-horse  by  him  screened 
from  view,  in  a  dense  thicket  of  bushes. 

"As  the  sun  rose  he  crawled  from  his  hiding-place  to 
the  top  of  the  bluff,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours  he 
saw  the  well-known  ponies  of  Firefly  and  Lily  led 
round  to  the  door  of  a  lodge,  standing  on  one  side  of 
the  town,  by  a  tall  young  Indian,  who  held  another  horse 
by  the  bridle  line.  Soon  came  forth  the  two  maidens, 
and,  stepping  upon  a  log,  bounded  into  the  saddle  for 
their  morning  ride,  attended  by  only  one  Indian. 

"  They  took  their  course  at  first  up  the  banks  of  the 
river,  stopping  at  times  to  watch  the  wild  goose  or  the 
duck,  as  they  sailed  upon  the  placid  waters,  or  view 
the  chattering  squirrel  (ad-je-do-rno)  as  lie  sat  upon 
the  limbs  of  his  native  forest ;  but  with  a  bend  of  the 
river  into  the  dense  forest,  they  turned  their  course 


256  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

towards  the  hill  where  the  young  spy  lay.  In  a  mo 
ment  he  withdrew  to  his  hiding-place,  and  awaited 
events  with  a  beating  heart. 

"On  gaining  the  summit  of  the  ridge  the  party 
halted,  as  if  to  enjoy  the  autumnal  breeze  and  view  the 
seared  leaves  of  approaching  winter,  as  well  as  to  select 
their  course  to  pursue  still  farther  their  ride. 

"  The  first  thought  of  Antelope  was  to  send  an  arrow 
through  the  heart  of  the  attendant,  and  flee  with  the 
maidens  to  the  camp ;  but  the  other  spies  were  not  in, 
and  would  be  taken.  They  were  all  to  meet  that  night 
at  a  spot  agreed  upon,  and  report  their  discoveries. 

"  They  all  started  down  the  hill  towards  the  point  of 
timber,  Firefly  being  behind,  as  she  had  stopped  to 
look  at  some  flowers  of  rare  beauty.  The  first  two 
passed  the  point.  In  a  moment  Ta-to-kah-nan  ad 
vanced  from  the  bush  and  discovered  himself  to  Fire 
fly,  unseen  by  the  others,  making  the  sign  of  silence, 
and  pronouncing  her  name  in  a  loud  whisper.  Fire 
fly  started,  while  a  half-smothered  shriek  escaped  her 
lips.  Her  quick  perception  and  keen  Indian  cunning 
told  her  all.  Assuming  to  see  something  interesting, 
she  advanced  to  the  edge  of  the  thicket,  and  the  young 
brave,  crouched  in  the  brush,  told  her  of  the  warriors 
sent  by  her  father,  the  course  of  their  camp,  and  the 
plans  laid  for  her  escape.  She  advised  him  to  call  in 
the  scouts,  and  return  to  the  camp  of  the  warriors;  and 
the  next  morning,  at  the  same  hour,  she  and  Lily  would 
be  there  prepared  for  escape,  while  he  so  disposed  of 
the  troops  as  to  cut  off  pursuit  from  the  village. 

"  Firefly  soon  joined  her  party,  and,  although  ex 
cited,  managed  to  escape  the  notice  of  the  attendant. 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IX    THE    HUNTERS*    CAMP.        257 

She  changed  her  course,  and  by  a  circuitous  route 
soon  returned  to  the  village,  to  give  Antelope  an  op 
portunity  for  arranging  things  for  the  morrow. 

"  O,  how  did  the  heart  of  Firefly  bound  within  her, 
and  leap  for  joy  at  the  prospect  of  deliverance.  She 
longed  for  a  secret  moment  to  tell  Lily  all,  the  sweet 
prospects  of  home  and  friends,  and  as  soon  as  they  ar 
rived,  and  the  attendant  was  discharged,  they  sought  the 
little  bower  that  had  been  built  for  them  in  front  of  the 
lodge.  Here,  in  an  excited  state  of  mind,  did  Chin-cha- 
pee  unfold  the  plan  to  Vi-oli-noti,  telling  her  of  the 
hurried  interview  with  Ta-to-kah-nan,  of  his  true 
devotedness  to  their  cause,  of  his  daring  and  bravery 
in  venturing  almost  into  the  very  camp  of  the  enemy, 
of  the  scalp  that  hung  from  his  belt,  and  of  her  love  for 
him.  Lily  seemed  ready  to  scream  for  joy.  They 
wept  in  silence,  and  thanked  the  Great  Spirit  for  his 
goodness  to  them.  Soon  the  bright  eyes  were  dried, 
and  the  all-absorbing  thoughts  of  escape,  of  home,  father, 
mother,  friends,  were  uppermost  in  their  minds.  The 
two  maidens  lay  locked  in  each  other's  arms  that  night. 
Sleep  forsook  them,  and  with  the  dawn  they  rose,  full 
of  hope  and  fear. 

"The  young  warrior  chieftain,  as  was  his  custom, 
passed  round  their  lodge,  tarried  a  moment,  and,  with 
winning  smiles,  tried  to  engage  them  in  some  conver 
sation  ;  but  Firefly,  as  yet,  had  never  spoken  to  him. 
She  could  but  admire  his  magnanimity,  his  nobleness 
of  heart,  his  kind  indulgence  during  all  their  imprison 
ment;  for  not  the  slightest  indignity  had  ever  been 
offered  them,  and  every  facility  for  enjoyment  granted 
that  they  desired.  They  walked,  they  rode,  and  rambled, 
17 


258  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

and  were  never  separated.  At  night  the  old  sentinel  fas 
tened  the  door  of  their  lodge,  and  slept  at  its  threshold. 

"  What  would  not  the  warrior  chieftain  have  given 
to  gain  fully  the  affections  of  one  so  lovely,  so  pure, 
so  noble  in  character,  and  exalted  in  birth,  so  beautiful 
in  form  and  feature !  He  loved  to  see  her,  the  admired 
of  all,  mounted  on  her  splendid  charger.  He  was  as 
fleet  as  the  deer,  and  never  did  woman  sit  upon  a  horse 
with  more  grace  and  beauty.  No  horse  in  the  whole 
Blackfoot  camp  could  outrun  him,  or  that  of  Lily,  who 
also  was  a  good  rider,  having  been  long  taught  by 
Firefly. 

"Ta-to-kah-nan  was  soon  joined  by  the  other  spies, 
and  all  returned  to  the  camp  of  the  warriors.  Ante 
lope  was  now  entitled  to  rank.  He  had  slain  an  enemy. 
The  scalp  of  a  Blackfoot  hung  from  his  belt,  dripping 
with  blood,  and  he  was  no  longer  to  follow,  but  to  lead, 
upon  the  trail  of  an  enemy. 

"The  camp  was  aroused;  the  report  of  the  spies 
heard  in  council,  and  that  night  Ta-to-kah-nan  led  the 
armed  warriors  to  the  field  of  battle. 

"  It  was  arranged  so  that  a  protecting  force  should  be 
in  readiness  to  cover  the  flying  retreat  of  the  maidens, 
but  in  such  a  manner  as  to  draw  the  enemy  into  a 
pitched  battle. 

"  The  several  squads  of  braves  were  placed  around 
the  hills,  while  the  main  body  was  posted  in  a  valley 
surrounded  with  hills,  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  be 
seen  until  fairly  entrapped  for  battle. 

"Ta-to-kah-nan  alone  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  girls 
at  the  place  appointed.  Hours,  and  even  minutes, 
seemed  days  to  him,  as  he  sat  concealed,  watching  with 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS*    CAMP.        259 

eager  eye  the  summit  of  that  little  hill  over  which  the 
maidens  were  to  come.  How  did  he  watch  the  waving 
of  each  bush  and  twig  that  obscured  his  sight !  and  with 
what  breathless  anxiety  did  he  long  for  the  moment 
when  Firefly  should  give  the  signal  for  flight ! 

"  At  last  they  came,  Lily  in  the  lead,  the  attendant 
by  her  side,  and  Firefly  lingering  in  the  rear.  She  saw 
Antelope  for  a  moment,  and  received  from  him  a  token 
of  assurance.  In  another  moment  a  wild  scream  burst 
from  her  lips,  and  her  bounding  steed  flew  past  Lily, 
whose  animal  had  now  caught  the  alarm,  and  seemed 
to  skim  the  ground  like  a  bird.  The  attendant,  dumb 
founded  and  speechless,  seeing  an  Assiniboin  warrior 
in  close  pursuit,  turned,  and  fled  to  the  top  of  the  hill, 
gave  the  alarm,  and  soon  the  whole  village  was  in  wild 
commotion.  Warriors  were  at  once  mounted,  and  in 
full  pursuit. 

"  Ta-to-kah-nan,  with  the  captives,  had  rested  upon 
the  top  of  a  hill,  as  if  in  defiance  of  their  enemy,  but 
in  reality  to  draw  them  into  the  camp  of  the  Assini 
boin  warriors. 

"  The  war-whoop  of  the  Blackfeet  now  rang  through 
the  village,  and  little  squads  of  horsemen  were  seen 
leaving  in  all  directions. 

"  While  Antelope  and  the  maidens  sat  watching  the 
scene  with  anxiety,  a  company  of  twelve  Indians  rushed 
upon  them  from  behind  a  knoll  —  a  point  they  had 
gained  unobserved  by  the  captives  —  and  now  began 
the  chase  for  life  and  death.  The  young  warrior  chief 
tain  led  the  band,  and  with  the  most  deafening  whoops 
ajid  yells,  on  they  came,  but  without  gaming  an  inch 
upon  their  prey. 


260  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

"  The  race  now  became  wild  as  the  wind.  Over  hill 
and  dale,  across  ravine  and  prairie,  did  Firefly  lead 
the  yelling  enemy,  with  Lily  close  behind  her,  and 
Antelope  by  her  side.  All  pressed  their  noble  steeds 
to  their  greatest  capacity. 

"  The  Blackfeet,  in  desperation,  strained  every  nerve, 
until,  rising  a  sharp  ridge,  the  Assiuiboin  camp  lies 
before  them!  A  yell  of  triumph  arose  from  the  assem 
bled  warriors,  all  mounted,  and  'Chin-cha-pee!  Chin- 
cha-pee!  Vi-oli-noti ! '  is  sounded  through  the  camp. 
But  on  came  the  pursued  and  the  pursuers.  Firefly, 
with  hands  lifted,  imploring  the  aid  of  the  Great  Spirit, 
half  raised  in  her  saddle,  her  long,  glossy  hair  floating 
in  the  breeze,  and  the  lines  of  her  horse  flung  across 
his  neck,  looked  more  the  picture  of  an  unearthly  be 
ing  than  the  mute  and  silent  Firefly!  She  gave  an 
anxious,  imploring  look  behind  for  the  safety  of  those 
she  loved,  and  patting  her  faithful  horse,  a  few  more 
'bounds  brought  her  into  camp,  and  she  sprang  from  her 
cream-colored  pony  into  the  arms  of  her  friends. 

"  The  pursuing  Blackfeet  saw  the  stratagem,  and 
turned  to  flee ;  but  it  was  too  late.  They  were  sur 
rounded,  led  to  the  centre  of  the  camp,  and  a  strong 
guard  placed  over  them. 

"Short  was  the  rejoicing  over  the  lost  maidens  now, 
for  on  came  the  Blackfeet  with  most  desperate  fury, 
shouting  their  terrific  war-cry,  the  sassiskivi  of  the 
tribe.  Burning  to  avenge  so  daring  an  outrage  upon 
their  village,  they  rushed  forward  with  great  impetuos 
ity  from  every  hill,  and  from  behind  every  nook.  But 
the  Assiriiboins  were  ready  for  them.  They  had 
formed  in  a  circle,  having  the  captured  maidens  and 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE    HUNTERS5    CAMP.        261 

the  Blackfeet  prisoners  in  the  centre.  The  scouts  had 
now  all  come  in,  and  the  battle  became  general.  Chin- 
cha-pee,  mounted  on  her  foaming  steed,  with  the  '  to 
tem  '  of  her  tribe  floating  over  her  head,  rode  round 
the  circle  with  Yi-oli-noti  by  her  side,  shouting  the  war- 
cry  of  her  people,  and  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight 
urging  the  warriors  to  desperate  conflict.  The  repeat 
ed  and  fearful  charges  of  the  Blackfeet  drove  the 
Ansiniboins  into  closer  quarters. 

"  Chieftain  and  brave  alike  fought  with  desperation, 
all  lashing  themselves  to  their  horses,  that  in  case  of 
death  their  bodies  would  be  carried  from  the  battle 
field,  and  their  scalps  saved  from  their  enemies.  At 
every  charge  they  were  repulsed,  and  the  enemy  fell 
like  buffalo  before  the  arrows  of  the  Sioux. 

"The  battle  continued  for  more  than  two  hours. 
Many  a  Blackfoot  had  bit  the  dust,  and  many  of  the 
Assiniboins  had  also  gone  upon  the  trail  to  the  good 
hunting-grounds. 

" Night  came  on;  the  battle  began  to  wane.  The 
Blackfeet  seemed  determined  on  one  more  desperate 
charge,  before  giving  up  the  contest ;  and,  rallying  in 
solid  column,  they  came  down  with  almost  resistless 
fury,  striving  to  break  the  ranks  of  the  Assiniboins, 
first  discharging  their  arrows,  and  then  with  knife 
and  tomahawk  seeking  a  hand-to-hand  conflict.  The 
carnage  was  dreadful.  Horse  and  rider  rolled  alike  in 
the  dust,  while  many  a  steed  bore  away  the  bleeding, 
lifeless  corpse  of  his  master  from  the  field  of  battle. 

"  The  Blackfeet  now  turned  and  fled  in  dismay,  with 
the  Assiniboins  close  in  pursuit,  following  them  even 
to  the  outskirts  of  their  village.  Eighty-five  of  their 


262  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

number  were  slain,  and  upwards  of  twenty  of  the 
Assiniboins.  Among  the  latter  was  the  young,  the 
brave,  and  noble  Ta-to-kah-nan,  the  protector,  pre 
server,  and  lover  of  the  beautiful  Chin-cha-pee,  the 
Firefly.  Her  grief  was  inconsolable.  She  wept  in  bitter 
anguish  as  she  remembered  the  self-sacrificing  spirit  of 
the  noble  youth,  in  his  recent  success,  for  he  had  slain 
many  in  the  action,  and  was  in  the  thickest  light, 
With  him  were  buried  all  her  future  hopes,  and  from 
that  day  a  settled  melancholy  fixed  its  indelible  stamp 
upon  her  dusky  brow. 

"All  that  long  night  there  was  mourning  in  the 
camp  of  the  Assiniboins  for  the  brave  dead. 

"  Morning  came,  and  after  burying  their  dead  and 
securing  the  scalps  of  the  enemy,  they  started  on 
their  return  home,  taking  with  them  the  prisoners, 
whom  it  was  usual  to  put  to  death  on  the  evening 
after  the  battle,  when  the  scalp-dance  is  performed ; 
but  this  was  deferred  for  the  night  of  the  first  encamp 
ment,  when  four  were  tortured  to  death,  and  on  the 
arrival  of  the  party  upon  their  own  lands,  four  more 
were  led  to  execution.  The  other  four,  among  whom 
was  the  warrior  chieftain,  were  to  be  kept  until  the 
arrival  of  the  party  at  their  village,  when  all  could 
join  in  the  sacrifice  and  dance. 

"  Chin-cha-pee  had  watched  with  earnest  care  the 
victims  brought  forth  for  sacrifice,  intending  to  inter 
fere  in  behalf  of  her  captor,  the  young  chieftain,  when 
his  turn  came  for  the  torture. 

"The  last  camping-place  was  at  length  reached,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Yellowstone ;  nnd  on  the  morrow 
the  grand  entry  was  to  be  made  into  the  village  of 


CAMP.     263 

the  Assiniboins,  with  the  trophies  of  victory  borne 
by  the  victors. 

"A  halt  was  called  a  mile  from  the  town,  and  the 
procession  formed.  First  came  the  chief  appointed  by 
We-non-ga  to  lead  the  expedition,  and  by  his  side 
rode  the  prophet  and  medicine  men  of  the  tribe. 
Then  came  Chin-cha-pee  and  Yi-oli-noti,  upon  the 
same  ponies  they  rode  away  weeks  before,  bearing 
the  totem  of  the  tribe,  as  the  daughter  of  the  chief 
tain.  Then  came  the  warriors  in  great  triumph,  fol 
lowed  by  the  scalps  taken  in  the  expedition,  closed  up 
by  a  long  train  of  pack  animals,  the  poor,*  lame,  and 
wounded  of  the  party. 

"When  the  procession  reached  the  chief's  lodge, 
there  was  a  halt,  and  one  wild  cry  of  joy  went  up  from 
the  gathered  multitude,  and  4  Chin-cha-pee!  Chin-cha- 
pee  !  Vi-oli-noti !  Yi-oli-noti ! '  rang  throughout  the 
vast  assembly,  as  the  aged  chieftain  clasped  his  long- 
lost  daughter  to  his  bosom. 

"  Long  and  silently  did  he  weep  over  her  whom  he 
thought  lost.  No  word  was  spoken,  nor  was  there 
any  wild  outburst  of  affection,  but  that  still  and;  silent 
joy  for  her  return,  and  deep  sorrow  for  the  loss  of 
him  whom  she  loved,  for  Chin-cha-pee  had  whispered 
her  lover's  death  in  her  father's  ear. 

"  There  was  another  scene  for  Firefly  to  go  through. 
Her  mother  was  absent  from  the  village  at  the  time  of 
the  arrival,  and  hearing  of  the  return  of  the  war  party, 
she  hastened  to  her  lodge,  and  with  deep  emotion, 
forcing  her  way  through  the  dense  crowd,  found  Fire 
fly  leaning  upon  the  bosom  of  We-non-ga.  A  moment, 
and  the  mother  and  daughter  were  locked  in  each 


264  THE    GENERAL,    OR 

other's  arms,  amid  the  cries  and  shouts  of  the  tribe,  and 
with  sobbing  and  tears  sank  to  the  earth. 

"  While  this  scene  was  going  on  at  the  lodge  of  the 
chief,  the  village  crier  had  summoned  the  grand 
council,  and  the  prisoners  were  before  them.  The 
closing  scenes  of  the  great  drama  were  fast  coming  to 
an  end.  The  grand  scalp-dance  was  already  begun, 
and  one  of  the  prisoners  had  been  chopped  in  pieces, 
when  Chin-cha-pee  and  Vi-oli-noti  came  in  and  stood 
before  them.  Their  wild  joy  for  a  moment  ceased. 
The  young  Blackfoot  stood  bound,  chanting  his  death 
song,  when,  on  raising  his  eyes  for  the  last  time  on  his 
enemies,  his  mild  but  piercing  eye  rested  on  Firefly, 
who  had  taken  her  place  beside  her  father,  near  to  the 
stake  of  execution. 

"No  pleading  look  from  him  seemed  to  ask  for  mercy. 
For  a  moment  his  haughty  nature  seemed  to  scan  the 
pitying  look  of  Chin-cha-pee,  but  her  piercing  glance 
sank  like  an  arrow  deep  into  his  heart,  and  he  felt  the 
wrong  he  had  done  her,  the  bitter  anguish  he  had 
caused  her. 

"Firefly  now  stood  forth,  and,  addressing  her  father, 
said,  'This  is  the  young  chieftain  of  the  Blackfeet. 
He  was  my  captor.  He  is  the  son  of  a  great  chief, 
although  our  enemy.  His  hand  has  taken  the  scalps 
of  our  people.  But  his  heart  is  big,  noble,  and  good. 
He  ever  guarded  with  honorable  and  jealous  care 
Chin-cha-pee  and  Vi-oli-noti,  while  prisoners  in  his 
camp.  His  good  heart  ever  fed  us  with  the  choicest 
morsels  of  the  deer  and  the  antelope,  and  all  our 
wishes  were  granted  when  in  his  lodge.'  To  his  kind 
indulgence  are  we  indebted  for  our  escape  and  resto- 


TWELVE    NIGHTS    IN    THE ,  HUNTERS'    CAMP.       265 

ration  to  your  arms.  Pardon  him,  my  father!  The 
Good  Spirit  whispers  me  for  his  return  to  his  tribe, 
that  he  may  tell  how  honor,  and  principle,  and  justice 
can  be  rewarded,  even  by  an  enemy.' 

"The  aged  chieftain,  We-non-ga,  ordered  the  thong3 
cut  from  his  arms  and  legs,  his  pouch  filled  with  buf 
falo  meat,  and  set  upon  his  own  horse  with  a  safe 
guide  until  he  reached  the  land  of  the  Blackfeet.  But 
Chin-cha-pee  never  spoke  to  the  young  warrior  chief 
tain  of  the  Blackfeet. 

"  We-non-ga,  and  the  aged  Wah-to-mee-ka,  his  wife, 
have  long  been  laid  away  in  the  '  Village  of  the 
Dead,'  at  Fort  Union. 

"Firefly  and  Mountain  Lily,  at  the  death  of  the 
Chief,  took  the  neat  little  lodge  where  we  saw  Firefly 
this  morning,  but  Yi-oli-noti  was  no  more.  She  had 
fallen  a  victim  to  that  scourge  of  the  Indian,  the 
small-pox,  with  thousands  of  others,  and  her  spirit  had 
been  wafted  to  the  banks  of  that  river  where  the 
flowers  bloom  forever  and  the  Blackfeet  never  come. 

"Chin-cha-pee  could  never  forget  Ta-to-kah-nan. 
His  memory  fastened  strongly  and  closely  to  her  heart, 
and  although  many  a  noble  chieftain  had  sought  her 
hand,  she  ever  refused,  since  she  had  no  heart  to 
give  with  it.  Her  beauty  has  faded;  sorrow  has 
tinged  her  once  fair  brow,  but  the  light  of  her  eye  is 
yet  undimmed." 


fw 


IT  was  on  the  opening  Sabbath  of  1868  that  this  life 
of  honorable  labor  and  varied  incidents  ended,  and 
the  weary  feet  of  The  General  rested  from  their  travels. 
He  had  indulged  his  youthful  wish  in  seeing  the  wild 
nature  of  his  native  land  in  her  wildest  dress.  He  had 
laid  out  ample  fields  for  agriculture,  surveyed  the  chan 
nels  and  thoroughfares  for  the  wealthiest  inland  com 
merce,  run  the  boundaries  for  new  states,  and  aided  to 
found  their  cities.  Educational,  humane,  and  religious 
organizations  shared  in  their  beginnings  in  the  energies 
of  his  mind,  and  the  warmth  of  his  heart,  and  the  lib 
erality  of  his  hand.  Society  felt  the  sunshine  and  the 
glow  of  his  private  life.  So  was  the  great  purpose  of 
his  boyhood  realized  in  the  achievement  of  a  truly 
noble  life,  in  which  the  mental,  and  social,  and  Christian 
honorably  obscured  the  mercenary. 

His  grave  overlooks  the  land  he  loved  so  well,  and 
led  so  many  others  to  know  and  adorn.  "  Oak  Dale  " 
looks  down  on  the  beautiful  city  of  his  adoption  and 
nurture,  and  over  the  broad  river  that  was  his  pride 
and  glory,  and  out  upon  the  vast,  billowy  prairies, 
where  his  were  the  first  compass  and  chain,  and  corner 

(267) 


268  IN    MEM  OBI  AM. 

bounds  for  the  immigrant.  This  region  he  selected 
for  a  home,  as  the  crowning  beauty  of  all  the  wide 
lands  he  had  traversed ;  and  fitting  it  was  that  his 
final  resting-place  should  have  an  outlook  over  the 
beautiful  panorama.  Native  oaks  stand  sentinel  about 
his  monument,  and  the  delicate  prairie  flowers  spring 
at  his  feet,  as  in  tender  memory  of  an  early  friend  who 
found  them  in  their  wild  homes. 

His  final  rest  is  where  he  prepared  for  it  by  enclosure 
and  monument,  and  in  the  manner  of  being  laid  in  it 
his  wish  was  gratified.  For  at  the  first  festival  of  The 
Pioneer  Settlers'  Association  of  Scott  County,  Iowa, 
in  1858,  he  said,  in  closing  an  address,  "  Thy  people 
shall  be  my  people,  and  thy  God  my  God ;  where  thou 
diest  will  I  die,  and  there  will  I  be  buried.  And  when 
I  shall  have  gone  to 

'  The  undiscovered  country,  from  whose  bourn 
No  traveller  returns,' 

t,he  greatest  boon  I  can  ask  is,  that  my  grave  may  be 
surrounded  by  the  Pioneer  Settlers'  Association  of 
Scott  County." 

His  desire  was  sacredly  regarded,  and  they  sorrow- 
fully  gathered  about  his  grave,  and  tenderly  placed  in 
it  all  the  mortal  that  remained  of 

WILLARD  BARROWS. 


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